Filipino-American Jefre “JEFRЁ” Manuel-Figueras, one of the world’s seven “Faces of Design” and American Institute of Architect’s Consultant of the Year awardee, is again making waves in the local and international art communities with his couture landscape and public art plans and projects.
Dubbed “The Selfie Project”, JEFRЁ’s newest showcase alters both the skyline and the landscape and is rooted in local community cultures and identities. The Net Group is the one responsible for bringing JEFRЁ’s works into the country.
“For now, we are doing a year-end test for my Selfie Project with The Net Group. We are doing a prototype test on the projectors that will be used and mounted in this project.” said JEFRЁ.
The Selfie Project is JEFRЁ’s first big commissioned project in the Philippines. He hopes that it will be Bonifacio Global City’s most iconic piece once it is completed during the first quarter of 2017.
Besides the aforementioned project, JEFRЁ is also working on a giant lantern for the upcoming Lantern Festival in San Fernando, Pampanga in November. It will be mounted on a 91-meter high pole which will be visible even kilometers away from the Robinsons Starmills, Pampanga site.
Additionally, he is sculpting six pieces mimicing the traditional Sinulog dance to be displayed at the main courtyard of SM Seaside Cebu. On top of the sculptures, JEFRЁ will also build a 120-meter high projection tower on all sides of the mall. Each tower will contain 60 to 80 projectors, making the endeavor the biggest permantent digital mapping project in the world. It is also estimated to be completed by the first quarter of 2017.
Some of JEFRЁ’s other projects include a collaboration with young Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers of A Restaurant Story in London, where the former will display a series of small neon-colored sculptures of the restaurant’s 12-course sitting menu across the City Hall, next to Knightsbridge; a smaller three-by-eight meter all-glass piece in Lake Nona, Orlando Florida; and a nine-meter sitting labrador for the Garage Project.
“Since the locals and the customers are being a bit brash [in the restaurant], and you will hear the ‘F’ word in every corner, I was inspired to do a piece that is more avant-garde. The pieces of the exhibit will be hanged separately on the ceiling of the staircase. So that if you walk down the stairs, you could see a thumb’s up from the top view. But if you walk on the stairs the other way, you will see a raised middle finger,” JEFRЁ commented, referring to his resto project.
The middle-aged, multi-awarded architect and public artist became known for his multi-million dollar masterpieces abroad such as “The Beacon” and “The Code Wall.” As JEFRЁ’s career began to flourish, he brought home his idea of public and iconic art. He was recently commissioned by the SM Group to work on “Talking Heads” at SM 5 Ecom, and “Sculpture Contour Series” at SM Aura.