Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy

Society of 23’s Conservatory 

Jeffrey Augustine Songco, Flower Arrangement Number 1, 2024, Photograph on foam board

The greenhouse becomes a backdrop to Songco’s camp exploration of a complicated relationship between his identity as an American of Filipino ethnicity and the colonial American behavior of conspicuously collecting “exotic” plants during the US rule over the Philippines from 1898-1946.

Through the scope of florals and bouquet arrangements, Songco “plants” visual clues and non-verbal messages throughout the space, inviting viewers to reflect on their own personal and cultural origin stories and consider the constructs we create and dismantle for ourselves.

For the last fifteen years, Songco has continued to make artwork based on the Society of 23 — a fictional brotherhood of 23 mysterious gentlemen all portrayed by the artist himself. His artwork examines the construction of his personal identities and their relationships to the actual society in which he exists.

Love What You See in the Conservatory?
Now you can bring the magic home! The Society of 23’s Conservatory Gift Shop is now open on Jeffrey Augustine Songco’s website.

 

Artist’s Statement:

“My artwork is a celebration of life. I work with a variety of media including large-scale installation, self-portrait photography, sculpture, and video. My practice is rooted in a considered set of conceptual parameters that guide my thought and labor towards the final outcome of my autobiographical artwork. I share my reflections on how my mind and body are shaped by the identities and realities I have inherited and constructed myself. This dense layering of things reveals the forest of ideas I navigate and the conflicts I continue to resolve. Each of my artworks relate to one another in particular ways and evolve in their meaning as I continue to create the grand nonlinear narrative of my life.”

Jeffrey Augustine Songco, Flower bouquet and friendship bracelets, 2024, Acrylic and cotton

Artist’s Biography

Michigan-based artist Jeffrey Augustine Songco celebrates his personal journey within American popular culture by examining the living symbols and objects that bring meaning to his narratives. He sources from his own stories including hits like “the child of Catholic Filipino immigrants,” “coming out,” and “moving from a city to a farm” to inform his complex and immersive installations, digitally manipulated self-portrait photographs, and flamboyant abstract sculptures. Jeffrey received a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute and his artwork has been exhibited at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, SPRING/BREAK Art Show in New York City, and the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. He is featured in the publication Queering Contemporary Asian American Art, and has contributed writing to Art21 Blog, Bad at Sports, HuffPost, and Hyperallergic.

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Lamont Gallery programs are supported in part by the Michael C. Rockefeller ’56 Visiting Artists Fund.