Inmate painter donates art proceeds to Japan victims
by: JO1 Jeniffer S Rimando |
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The man who got himself featured in the book “The Lonely Planet” by an Australian author because of his art is an inmate at Bohol District Jail.
And he paints to help victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami tragedy in Japan.
He uses colorful, organic, soft stones to do his art. He paints with heart and for a noble cause.
Joselito, “Joyle” Alipala was a professional artist before a drug-related case sent him to jail. Inspired by his fascination on prehistoric art materials and with his background in archeology, he explored caves, ancient shelters and paintings.
As a child, he showed unusual inclination to the arts. His bloodline proves that indeed, arts is in the genes. His mother and uncle taught him how to paint, he said. He was keen on collecting rare stones, fossils, crystals, meteorites, and tektites. His art grew with him.
His profession in the arts started when he attended an exhibit-conference for the visual arts in the Visayas in 2000. And soon he started designing an arts-based career. As an artist, his work in a museum brought him to assist foreign archeologists who came to the country for studies. And until his case put an end to his freedom more than two years ago, his profession as visual artist was his means of support.
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Joyle in art mode. A piece of stone in hand and with pebbles at the side, Joyle is absorbed in creating another masterpiece.
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Joselito “Joyle” Alipala’s work of art which he sold so he could donate the proceeds to the tsunami victims in Japan. It was made the day the tragedy hit Japan.
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No arts barred
The cold steel bars did nothing to deter Joyle from doing his art.
He started as a volunteer artist at Bohol DJ. His ingenuity left no material worthless. The artist blood was working in him when he noticed that colors of some stones became vivid when wet. And so he used construction stones delivered to the facility for his painting.
His drawings gained life with his newly discovered materials: no less than stones and rocks around the jail. He collected as many of them as possible, and he painted using those stones, all with a stroke of genius. At first, it was just an experiment with the stones and their colors. Then, one after another, the paintings became breathtaking masterpieces.
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" Red Button "
Japan’s March 11, 2011 tsunami gave birth to the “Red Button,” Joyle’s disaster-inspired painting. It was made the same day the tragedy that killed thousands of people hit Japan. And he donated the proceeds of “Red Buttons” sale to the victims of the March 11 tsunami.
Bohol District Jail continues to take pride of and share with Joyle’s gift of the arts. In a place devoid of resources and freedom, he has everything a real artist needs for his masterworks: heart. Behind the iron bars, he has saved lives through the only way he knows how: the arts.
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