#PURVEYRcreatives featuring Simon Te (@simon.te )
"There has always been this weird fascination with things that seemed forgotten, or insignificant. I was drawn to bringing to light feelings that people usually glaze over."
For Simon Te, film is poerty in motion. An art of movement. A kinesthetical love affair that frames what truly makes us human.
He started as a dance photographer who needed to justify energy, flaws, fears, and emotions through volition and mobility. So he picked up his camera and took a dive head-first into the world of principal photography. These first clips of his friends dancing on the streets pushed Te and his friend to open a company catering to small ad campaigns and production.
Their first ad for a ride-sharing platform were followed by music videos and advertisements that most wouldn't consider as such. His maverick and argumentatively niche approach didn't deter him, however. It only inspired him to create especially for those who are willing to invest their senses and attention. He worked with companies like Uber and NBA, and with artists like The Ransom Collective, Clara Benin, and Autotelic.
"I wanted to create spaces that were safe to perform and be open, may that be in front of the camera or in front of the screen when watching the piece."
And in loving film, there's also movement that he considers crucial — a continuous cycle of falling in love with the same thing over and over again.
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#PURVEYRcreatives
Writer — Elijah Chan (@jedimastereja )
Image and Reel — Simon Te (Watch the reel in high-definition at Simon’s Vimeo page)
Temple Bird by Simon Te is an implement of silence
Temple Bird is a sculptural piece that invokes the quiet and gentle state of a bird at rest. Stout yet meek, the piece calls on as a soft reminder of how ‘rest must be intentional.’ A bird is not always in flight.
Produced in conversation with SAAN SAAN’s Mark Zavalla, we explored the inhabitants of the temple that give dialogue to the meditative resonance of the space. Temple Bird doubles as an incense holder — encouraging rituals that soothe the weary soul.
Able to withstand the heat of falling ash, Temple Bird is machined from high quality Stainless Steel and finished lovingly by hand, this totem of rest is designed to stand and collapse as needed.
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SAAN SAAN presents Implements of Silence, a material study and exhibit on both the tactility and ephemerality of objects that we interact with in our daily rituals.
December 14, 2024
1PM - 7PM
Temple at the Garden
3F YL Holdings Bldg,
V. A Rufino St. Legazpi Village
Makati City
No registration needed. Entrance is free.
Photography by @colindancel
Public Record by Simon Te and Mic Rahman invites festival goers into the act of making — a participatory installation where individual woodblock impressions accumulate into a layered collective image shaped over the course of Malasimbo. Participate and leave your mark!
Episode 6 : How Many Times Will You Dare To Try?
Scissor-cut curry had me running to Opus today, thank you for the chat and the chow @mauricionoel ! Congratulations!
🍋🟩 We used to make hundreds of these back in lockdown. Now rebranding to @malaya.bakery and dropping real soon. ☀️
Exploring new things with the 360 cam.
Backhands seem to be working out well (on hard courts).
Dad’s been in a jar for 13 years now.
13 years of trying to figure it out. Hasn’t gotten easier, but thankfully, it gets clearer.
First day back with a racket in my hand.
Slowly wearing off my @asicsph Court FF3.
@_andreate with the 💣 revel bars.
Today is one big cameo. And everyone is playing a role.
“The word cameo originally referred to a gemstone carved with a small, sharply defined portrait in relief — a tiny but vivid impression. That image transferred naturally to performance: a cameo appearance is brief, but like the carving, it stands out distinctly against everything around it.“
Congratulations @saansaanph and @typea.coffee
Public Records
Mixed Media, 2026
(Installation View)
In collaboration with Mic Rahman, and @searchmindscape , we created a public art installation that invited the community to co-create through the act of wood block printing. This piece was made to encourage the writing of personal histories in a local community.
In late March, I exhibited 2 works for @facultyprojects group show: Residue of Behavior (curated by @patrickdeveyra ).
These two pieces are part of a series that explores emotions and nuances in the places I’ve lived.
On view until today.
"And I think that is what’s so interesting with any contemporary art; when you can see in an object the residue of behavior." –Sarah Sze
Borrowing its title from an interview with visual artist Sarah Sze, Residue of Behavior considers home not as a site of habitation, but as an accumulation of actions and memories. Through repeated gestures and routines, space—both physical and internal—is continuously formed, carrying traces that persist even after the artist moves on.
The works in this exhibition examine what remains: habits embedded in objects, memory inscribed in architecture, and behaviors that quietly shape a sense of belonging.
Micaela Benedicto @micabene
Miguel Lorenzo Uy @miguellorenzouy
Renzo Navarro @_renzonavarro
Lee Paje @leepaje
Jason Montinola @jasonmontinola
Rando Onia @p_r_o_m_e_t_h_e_u_s_
Bryan Kong @bryan_kong
ESL Chen @e.s.l.chen
Sarah de Veyra-Buyco @sarahdvbuyco
Pat Frades @patfrades_
Janice Liuson-Young @jyoung.art
Victoria Montinola @victoriamontinola
Isaiah Cacnio @isaiahcacnio
Simon Te @simon.te
Julieanne Ng @julieanne1994
Gallery Hours:
Monday to Friday, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
To schedule a visit, please send a direct message on Instagram to @format.ph
FORMAT (@format.ph ) is the 2026 program of Faculty Projects (@facultyprojects ), encompassing exhibitions, curatorial work, and mentorship within and beyond the four walls of the white cube.
#FORMAT
Excited to share my participation in @facultyprojects ’ first group show — Residue of Behavior.
Running from March 25 until April 17, I’ll be showcasing 2 works in an ongoing series that explore memory and moments in places that I have called home.
Curated by @patrickdeveyra — I’m honored to be in the same lineup with artists whose work I deeply admire.
Hope to see you there!
@format.ph
