Artist Bio
Leeroy New (b. 1986, General Santos City, Philippines) is an artist-designer whose practice overlaps and intersects with film, theater, product design, and fashion. Originally trained as a sculptor, he tried everything from production design for film, to working with fashion designers, to creating 3D mock ups for commercial purposes. As a response to the issue of art and art practitioners’ (in)visibility in the Philippines, New decided early on that cultivating a language for large scale public art was the challenge he had to take on. Through his persistence, despite the initially limited support and resources, what resulted were immersive installations that use a variety of found objects directly sourced from the immediate material culture of his current environment. In the Paoay Sand Dunes of Northern Philippines, he collaborated with the local government to transform massive discards of the community, like water tanks and cement fountains, into a post-apocalyptic sculpture park along with a giant spaceship made from locally sourced bamboo. Through his collaborations with local performance artists, he was able to transform these same materials into set pieces and even wearable sculptures culminating in a cyber-site series called Aliens of Manila, which documents alien characters inhabiting Manila’s often harsh yet colorful streets. He has exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions including at Palais de Tokyo, the 2021 Busan Biennale, and the 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale in 2009.