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paradise8 One of the Philippines’ first 3D anamorphic video art installations by Elmer Borlongan is now on a billboard
Billboards today are taking a whole other dimension. And this 3D anamorphic work of installation art by Elmer Borlongan is no exception.
It’s one of the first billboards of its kind in the country that features “art for art’s sake,” with no commercial strings attached.
In the moving image, the artist’s character stands against a backdrop of blue skies, passing clouds, lush fields, and mountain ranges. His character releases three sparrows from his outstretched palms. The birds circle and multiply, growing in number. The figure moves into a powerful stance as a sparrow rushes toward the viewer, seemingly beyond the screen before it fades to black.
Launched in August, this billboard featuring Borlongan’s art commemorates and celebrates the 12th year of the VLink Robinsons Galleria 3-Panel LED Billboard, a pioneering site in partnership between VLink and Robinsons Land Corporation. The installation art encompasses a message of gratitude through artistic innovation.
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You might have seen some of the out-of-home advertising company’s billboards before. Besides the interactive 3-Panel LED at Robinsons Galleria, VLink also built and operates the largest two-way static billboard in the Philippines (628 feet wide, 68 feet high). This panoramic colossus has become a sight to behold on the Skyway 3 SLEX-NLEX Connector. The company also operates those ubiquitous indoor interactive kiosks throughout the city.
The milestone project of VLink features art not for commercial purposes or for a promotion of a product, but for art’s sake—to move, to spur, and to inspire passengers on their daily commute.
The art of Elmer Borlongan
Elmer Borlongan is a prominent Filipino painter, perhaps best known for his distinctive stylized, bald figures with large eyes and long limbs. He works through themes with social realist commentary. In the ’80s, he contributed to the social realism movement with the Salingpusa and Sanggawa artist groups.
A recipient of the 1994 CCP 13 Artist Award, his work has found its way to the Malacañang Palace and major collections abroad. For this particular collaboration with VLink, he features a work found in the Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo, “The Circle Game.”
Photo from the artist
The artist recounts a personal experience on his farm in Zambales. “I chanced upon a flock of sparrows circling in between two big mango trees. The birds did not feel threatened as I approached them. I stood there, and they comfortably circled around me. What an exhilarating experience! Living in the countryside and being surrounded by nature gives me so much joy.”
The title “The Circle Game” seems to echo Joni Mitchell’s famous song, which reflects on the cyclical nature of life. Similarly, Borlongan’s work captures a moment of natural harmony, with birds circling in an eternal dance, mirroring the cycle of seasons Mitchell sings about, and prompting viewers to pause and reflect on their own place in life’s greater circles, with the same emotions of ecstasy, elation, and calm that nature provides.
Behind-the-scenes process
The billboard project was initiated back in February 2023. VLink’s COO, Andrew Tung Borlongan, is also a long-time collector of Philippine contemporary art and saw an opportunity to innovate.
“I realized that in the Philippines, we do have quite a bit of installation art, but not so much in the digital space,” Andrew explains. “Moreover, we do have 3D billboard ads, but it’s usually to launch an ad campaign. So I came back to my roots as an art enthusiast.”
The project utilizes anamorphic or naked-eye technology, a centuries-old visual technique reimagined for the digital age. This optical illusion creates a 3D effect without special glasses, playing with perspective to make images appear to leap from the screen.
Street view of the 3D anamorphic billboard featuring the art of Elmer Borlongan
VLink’s team meticulously studied the billboard’s physical angle, adjusting and rendering Borlongan’s artwork to ensure depth and structure from all viewing angles. Andrew notes, “Even the texture and the brushstrokes of the character you can see.”
Working with a talented team of animators, the process was equally rigorous. “We made sure it uses really high-quality animation, fitting of Elmer’s caliber, because he himself is a skilled watercolorist, oil painter, and even as a printmaker, and he makes sure he learns the process and executes it masterfully,” Andrew emphasizes. “For this [the billboard animation], nothing is half-baked.”
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The meaning and the message
Andrew approached his second cousin Elmer with the idea. “We are second cousins, but he’s always been like a big brother to me,” Andrew shares. He pitched the billboard concept to Elmer: “What do you think if we make one of your iconic characters translate into the big screen outdoors?”
The artist’s positive response led to careful consideration of the billboard’s purpose. “What can it actually say if it is not selling a product?… There has been a lot happening in our country, and we wanted to send a message—we should be proud of who we are as Filipinos, first and foremost, who love our country, and at the same time, are stewards of our environment,” Andrew explains.
This project also serves as a gesture of gratitude. “It’s also our way to give back to our site on Robinsons Galleria at the corner of EDSA and Ortigas Avenue,” Andrew notes.
“We wanted to give back and elevate the site into something more than just selling ads… What if the site can stand for something and be a reminder and inspiration to Filipinos, or, more specifically, the people who are passing by that main thoroughfare everyday?”
The location, visible to daily commuters and overseas Filipino workers visiting the nearby POEA office, was chosen to inspire and uplift.
Andrew concludes with heartfelt appreciation: “Personally, I would like to thank Elmer Borlongan, Robinsons Land, my partners and colleagues at VLink. To work with each and every one in the team has been a blessing.”
Elmer Borlongan’s digital art installation located on the VLink 3-Panel LED at Robinsons Galleria (EDSA-Ortigas intersection) plays every five minutes in an hour and will run perpetually. paradise8