I’m rubber, you’re glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.

From a childish riposte, the exhibition Rubber and Glue by siblings Jheane and Julia Borja speaks of the reflective nature of words, actions, and demeanour through interactions with the self and relations to their surroundings. They are in constant company, and though familiarity brings comfort, the situation also makes room for conflict–a starting point for introspection.

In each practice, they explore form and the multitude of ways an individual can express an idea or feeling. In Jheane Borja’s paintings, angular and disjointed figures are seen in motion. These scenes echo her process of assessing a familiar idea from different perspectives. Thus, every depiction is never the same as the other. The objective of these multiple iterations is not necessarily to create a definable image. Instead, it is to discover and learn about one’s limitations and become more open to what was once inaccessible in her consciousness.

On the contrary, Julia Borja uses the body in her paintings to express feelings accumulated through experiences that leave her uncertain. Instead of taking them apart, she begins with inner complexities that are simplified through contortions in discernable figures. Therefore, where one is comfortable with unravelling the ambiguity in possibilities, the other is interested in painting an easily understood image.

The artists have recognised these differences in their ways of working and understanding themselves, collectively and independently. Painting side by side and subconsciously engaging in a conversation has deceivingly presented a whole picture, yet truthfully, they know that they have become rubber and glue–what may be absent in one is present in the other.

Text by Sayoka Takemura