Washi
MACHINE
This led to Heima: Home and Lifestyle inviting Ge to do a Wes Anderson tribute show at their 5th Anniversary. This show consisted of the infamous Bill Murray “Steve Zissou” piece which landed her a slot at The Bill Murray Affair, a tribute exhibit to the actor in San Francisco. Online, the portrait first appeared in Huffington Post and then on print featured in Time Magazine.
Due to the success of the Wes Anderson collection and the Time feature, Ge worked again with Heima for a second show in line with National Heroes month. The show called “Mix Tapes “ featured Pinoy pop icons. It consisted of portraits of Ge’s local heroes: Cecile Zamora-Van Straten, Manny Pacquiao, Ramon Bautista, Nora Aunor, Francis Magalona, and The Eraserheads.
Currently, Ge is doing commissioned works for clients and brands. They are usually used as gifts, personal items, or as a piece to commemorate an event.
This site is dedicated to Ge’s Washi Tape Portraits where you can also place an order or collaborate with the artist.
Ge Madriaga-Mapa is a freelance graphic designer and art director who loves craftwork. This UST Fine Arts Major is never confined to one medium. When she’s obsessed with a material crossed with a good idea, she’s got to make it happen. One of her earlier shows Letter’s never sent were framed lovelorn quotes stitched into fabric made to look like notepads. Like a framed note never sent. Passages with, “i hope to find you in the next lifetime” or “you shall forever remain my secret love” really floored the faint at heart.
Always into pop art and music, her other shows consisted of artworks in clocks with her favorite lyrics. For an entry for a group show, she framed a cross-stitch of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon album cover. She dabbled into digital print on wood and corkboard. She also toyed with furniture and built seats made out of vintage suitcases for her Roomix shop.
Then she discovered the “washi tape”, a decorative Japanese tape used to add zest in just about anything you want to put an accent with just a whiff of a tape. Putting her ideas to work, her washi tape portraits first appeared at Bloom Arts Festival 2013 which were Twiggy, Andy Warhol, and a good friend Garovs pasted on acrylic board.