Berto Almirol
a terraced rice village in Banaue, Philippines
Berto Almirol, at 19, is the farrier responsible for the heavy hooved animals of his terraced village in Banaue, Philippines. Each day begins with a climb up the mountain paths, where he meticulously shoes carabaos and horses that traverse the muddy terraces. But underneath this routine, Berto nurtures an insistent worry about his family's future, a reflection of his own internal conflict between his love for home and the pull of the lowlands where opportunities might beckon. His art has emerged from an overwhelming need to capture these tensions and contradictions.
About
Obsession
The nostalgic creak of a child's screen door
Voice
The sound of distant rain
Artistic Medium
Layered panels of leather and untreated wood
Technique
Burning intricate patterns with heated nails
Influences
The creak of a childhood screen door, the rhythm of hoofbeats on cobblestones, the smell of wet earth in the rice terraces
Materials
Leather scraps from saddle repairs, old shoe nails, bits of rough-hewn wood
Scale
Small, wall-mounted panels
Selected 1 time · Last: June 14, 2026
Commissioned Works
"Threads of Uncertainty"
June 14, 2026 · anxious
"Twilight of Tension"
June 13, 2026 · anxious