There’s a haunting honesty that runs through the paintings of Roderick Alpas “RA” Tijing—an urgency to record the fragile, fractured world around him while simultaneously holding space for reflection, surrealism, and hope. Based in Silay City, Negros Occidental, Tijing is a self-taught artist whose work navigates a visceral terrain of personal memory, socio-political critique, and visual experimentation. Across a practice spanning over 16 years, his oil paintings have evolved from traditional landscapes and portraits into charged, dreamlike commentaries on war, displacement, and the absurdities of power.

Choosing to remain rooted in the province rather than Manila’s commercial art hub, Tijing has forged a path shaped not by trends, but by lived realities—mountains and coastlines, failed systems and resilient communities. As co-founder of Grey Room Art Space and a longtime member of Orange Project, he has cultivated a generative environment for emerging artists, musicians, and writers in Negros. His most recent solo show Landscapes, Portraits, and Still Life marks both a return to foundational forms and a reimagining of them—placing traditional themes within contemporary, often dystopian, contexts.

In this interview, Tijing speaks with CNTRFLD.ART about growing up between the uplands and the sea, discovering art through library books and intuition, the enduring mentorship of Charlie Co, and how family, football, and silence balance the weight of history in his work.

“We paint, we chronicle, we criticize, we tell stories about the real situation—and remind the people that power is in our hands to choose the right people to run our society.”

—RA Tijing

CNTRFLD. Can you tell us about your childhood and upbringing—particularly your time growing up in Silay and later in Switzerland—and how those experiences shaped your identity and journey as an artist? Are there elements from those early years that continue to echo in your work today?

RAT. My life in Silay growing up is just simple, my father came from a family engage in fishing business and living near seaside area of Silay in Barangay Guinhalaran and my mom's family are farmers living in upland areas of Barangay Patag in Silay. So would stay in the mountain during summer months and help in the farm and enjoy nature, eat fresh fruits and farm produce, living a simple life, and in regular days living in the city near the ocean i would help in the fishing business of the family. My short stay in Switzerland also helps shaped my art, the arts, the sceneries and the bright colors during summertime in Switzerland would appear in my works, then the characters and subject matter mostly came from living in Silay city in the mountain and the city.

CNTRFLD. You are a self-taught artist who came to art through an unconventional path. How did you teach yourself, and what were some of the key influences or turning points in developing your practice outside formal art education?

RAT. As a self-taught artist i help myself going to library during my schooldays looking  and reading  about history of arts, from the renaissance, Realism, European masters , impressionism, cubism , expressionism , Pop Art, Lowbrow ,  abstract and also some of the  Filipino masters up to Social Realist , i then try to copy and experimented different styles until i develop my own style, i would attend also exhibitions and would go to museums and art fairs to see new works and would have idea where my art would stand.

CNTRFLD. In 2009, you made a turning point decision to return to the Philippines and pursue art full-time. What led to that moment, and how did meeting fellow Visayan artist Charlie Co influence your path?

RAT. I returned to Philippines in 2004 to pursue art, but it is until 2009 that i decided to go fulltime. I would to some side hassle, do business while pursuing art from 2004 to 2008, and in 2009 i decided to go back again to Switzerland because of a failed relationship and doing art is not sustainable that time, but that year also i was invited in Manilart2009 , the 1st art fair in the Philippines and my work was chosen to be auctioned during that time together with Charlie and that’s where i meet Charlie, we are the only 2 artists from, Negros (Bacolod) in the auction then he told me to exhibit to his Gallery in Bacolod, Orange Gallery and i decided not to go back in Switzerland after that i would tell my mom that I’m planning to go full time so that i can focus 100 in my art, and the rest is history, 16 years full time and enjoying art and 16 with Orange and being friend with Charlie Co through the years as mentor , brother and like a father to us in the art community.

CNTRFLD. Your work frequently reflects socio-political and cultural themes. How does your identity as a Negrense and Filipino inform your visual language and the stories you choose to tell?

RAT. As an artist, as a Negrense and a Filipino i would record, chronicle or tell through art the life, struggles, social issues that every day we are facing, maybe because of doing these in my art people would be aware or maybe could help change or solve issues.

CNTRFLD. You’ve chosen to base yourself in Silay, rather than in Manila where the art market is more concentrated. What draws you to Silay, and how has this location influenced your practice and worldview?

RAT. I choose to stay in Silay because I’m comfortable living here and i can do art away from distraction of a big city life.  Here we have a community (and) we do art not based on the trend or what’s hot in Manila scene. And Manila is an expensive city, fast, noisy, i can't bear the traffic and pollution, here i can be in the mountain in just 30 mins and 10 mins in the seaside, eating fresh vegetables and seafoods and my family is here, family is very important to us Filipinos especially in the province.

CNTRFLD. How would you describe the contemporary art scene in the Philippines today, especially from your vantage point in Bacolod? How would you compare the support systems for artists in the Philippines—especially in the provinces—to those you’ve encountered abroad?

RAT. I think the contemporary art scene in Philippines today is thriving compared 10 -15 year ago overall specially in the province like negros and Bacolod city, more and more people appreciate and collect contemporary  today, younger collectors who are admire and visits opening often before became head of a company or family business now and has buying power to buy works now, same also in manila where the center of art and everything is, more and more fairs and galleries to cater artists. But the support system (formed by) the government is still way behind in places i have been and did art residencies like South Korea and Germany, the government supports and funds artists unlike here mostly we support ourselves or private entities supports us.

CNTRFLD. You’re a co-founder of Grey Room Art Space, a vital platform for local talent. What inspired you to start this initiative, and how do you see its role evolving in the creative ecosystem of Negros Occidental?

RAT. Grey Room is part or initiative also of Orange Project, together with Charlie 10 of us artists collaborated to sell a work to fund Grey Room Art Space to cater younger artists, musicians and writers to have space for them to show and express their talents, it’s like incubator space for local artists, through Grey Room we discovered younger artists and musicians. Especially during pandemic Grey Room is the only place for them to gather, show and perform which mostly i organized and curate.  Grey Room shoulders all the expenses for the show, we let artists curate with us , we teach them how to set up shows, packing of works, advice what to use , the basics, we sometime provide materials, as for the musicians we pay them to perform, most of them 1st timers , we do that 3- 4 times a week. Some of them are now exhibiting with us at orange and in Manila, and some are carving a name outside Bacolod already.

CNTRFLD. Oil painting is a consistent medium in your practice. What draws you to it, and how has your practice evolved over the years in terms of materials, process, or themes?

RAT. I first started using oil pastel and Cray-Pas my early years , then using when i started painting on canvas, i like oil because it has a painterly characteristics, you can apply wet on wet, or let it dry and apply another layers or you can do impasto also, different brands also differs in characteristic also, overtime you know how these colors and brands behave when applied on to the canvas, from simply using linseed oil i experimented using poppy oil,  alkyd, Galkyd and different solvents but my favourite of all is using Liquin, through the years my themes and style also evolved, from simply painting landscapes and still life, realism, cubism to pop surreal & lowbrow, Social Realism to abstract & modern art.

CNTRFLD. Your recent solo exhibition Landscapes, Portraits, and Still Life at Orange Project marks a reflective milestone. What themes or personal evolutions were you revisiting, and how do you see this body of work in the context of your 16-year journey with Orange?

RAT. In my recent solo show, landscapes, portraits and still-life i revisited the basic theme when i was just starting but now with a twist, it’s now more contemporary and has social relevance, a commentary about war and the effect on people’s lives, destroyed homes means lives lost, broken families, destroyed hope, happiness and dreams. It’s like the culmination of or using everything i learned from my 16 years journey in art. But i think it is also the start of another phase in my career and journey.

CNTRFLD. Much of your work deals with haunting imagery—war-torn ruins, twisted symbols of power, existential absurdities. How do you balance the surreal with the real, the personal with the political?

RAT. I balance the surreal with the real, the personal with political through travel and sports, i paint from Monday to Friday and during  weekend i travel, i go mountaineering or just chill in the sand away from distraction solo or time with family, i think family is very important and me time to balance the sanity of every artists for me, i also play basketball & football every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings to let my blood flow and have a healthy life and to release toxicity and stress , but if i have upcoming solo show, i do less sport less travel and more painting time .

CNTRFLD. Your past works like Superior offer sharp commentary on politics, consumerism, and power dynamics. What role do you think artists can play in responding to socio-political realities?

RAT. As artists we paint, we chronicle, we criticize, we tell stories about the real situation and remind the people what we can do to balance the dynamics in social and political realities that power is in our hands to choose the right people to run our society. To clamour, to voice out, seek justice and accountability to all the people who we voted for and entrust our society.

CNTRFLD. As someone who didn’t take the traditional art school path, what advice would you give to emerging artists—especially those working outside major art hubs—based on your own experience navigating the art world?

RAT. As a self-taught artist my advice to all younger or emerging artists is that continue to learn, experiment and find your identity. Your identity is your branding in artworld, art is a lifetime learning, attend art fair, art exhibitions, talk to older or established artists, attend art talks, ask advice and right now a powerful tool is in our hands, internet , use it to develop your art, learn and be open to criticism, learn from your mistakes , continue and enjoy art.

CNTRFLD. After 16 years in the industry and 12 solo shows, what keeps you inspired and motivated to continue exploring, creating, and pushing boundaries?  

RAT. After 16 years fulltime and 16 solo shows, I’m still learning, the more i learn i think the less i know. A rt is exciting, its alive, it evolves, it’s a process, still a lot to learn, still a lot to discover in art making, style, materials, more people to meet, more places to explore and experience different cultures that can help in the development of my art.

About the artist.

RA Tijing (b. 1980) is a self-taught, pop-surreal visual artist and painter based in Silay and Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, whose work navigates the intersections of personal memory, social critique, and surrealist dreamscapes. Initially trained in Electronics and Communications Engineering and Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of St. La Salle, Tijing’s journey into art was unconventional—ignited not by formal instruction, but by a deep internal drive that he later committed to fully in 2009 after a formative encounter with mentor and fellow Visayan artist Charlie Co. Drawing on themes of modern and social realism, his practice channels pressing socio-political narratives through a distinct visual language—one that juxtaposes bright, often fantastical characters with harrowing symbols of war, power, and destruction. Tijing’s art, rendered primarily in oil, has been exhibited across the Philippines in institutions such as Ayala Museum, BenCab Museum, and Pinto Art Museum, as well as internationally in Switzerland, Korea, Singapore, and the UAE. A semi-finalist in the 2010 Metrobank Art & Design Excellence (MADE) Awards and a three-time CCP Thirteen Artists Awards nominee, he is also the co-founder of Grey Room Art Space in Bacolod, a hub supporting local artistic voices. His latest solo exhibition, Landscapes, Portraits, and Still Life, commemorates his 16-year journey with Orange Project and exemplifies his enduring ability to transform ruins—both literal and symbolic—into reflective, existential meditations on humanity and history.