Hi Czar! Please tell our readers about yourself!
Hello! My name is Czar Kristoff J.P. I am a multidisciplinary artist working across photography, design, bookmaking, moving images, and facilitation. I am currently interested in exploring the joy and scars involved in making homes and monuments. My projects have been presented at various institutions across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. I was born and raised in Camarines Sur. I am currently based in Laguna, Philippines.
Can you tell us about your newest publications "Bahay/Abog/Bale/Harong/Balay" and "Select Publications 2015-2025"?
Bahay/Abog/Bale/Harong/Balay is a limited-edition, two-page poster publication printed using a digital blueprint technique. It combines archival photographs of nipa huts taken between 1945–1986, sourced from the Flickr archive of John Tewell, with images of temporary shelters I photographed between 2016–2018. The publication is an abridged iteration of a long-term body of work I have been developing over the past decade, centered on the use of tarpaulin and sakolin (a sack-like version of tarpaulin commonly found in blue and orange) as nesting and shelter material.
Over the years, this project has taken multiple forms through exhibitions and publications, produced independently and in collaboration with curator friends. Its earliest iteration began in 2013 through LagunaDaily, an Instagram archive documenting studies of tarpaulin and other street configurations in my neighborhood. Self-produced and printed on demand, Bahay/Abog/Bale/Harong/Balay was launched at the Book Book Festival in Seoul in 2025.
Select Publications 2015–2025 is my latest book project, bringing together a decade of publishing work produced in collaboration with Cartellino. The book is laser-printed on acid-free paper, unstitched, accordion-bound, and entirely printed and assembled by hand. For each copy, I selected two to four spreads from every publication and photocopied them directly onto paper, bypassing design software altogether, resulting in ten completely unique editions.
Initially, I struggled with the idea of producing such a limited edition, since books are fundamentally meant to circulate. Yet the project became an opportunity to further explore the tensions between artwork, art book, and archive which are questions that have remained central to my practice over the last decade. With the generous support of Cartellino, I was able to experiment with forms and processes I do not usually work with, such as color laser printing, using acid-free paper, etc.
Looking back through these publications became an emotional process. The works not only trace the spaces, structures, and conditions I have documented over the years, but also the friendships, conversations, and experiences that shaped these projects.
As an independent publisher, we're also curious about your collaborations. Can you share your experience working with SG-based Temporary Press for "New Refuge" / ipo-ipo projects for "MAPA atbp." issues / Cartellino for "Select Publications 2015-2025"?
I first met Gideon and Jamie of Temporary Press in 2019 while I was in Singapore for Browsing Copy, a project on artist books organized by curators Selene Yap and Cheng Jia Yun. We reconnected in 2021 and began discussing the possibility of republishing a one-edition book I originally made in 2018, which eventually became New Refuge.
At first, I was hesitant about the idea. I wanted to remain loyal to my publishing practice, whose form and content are rooted in the Philippines, particularly in my neighborhood in Laguna. But over time, I came to realize that openness is also an essential part of publishing.
Throughout the pre-production process of New Refuge, we exchanged long emails, paper samples, and detailed conversations to ensure that we were communicating not only our respective needs and visions, but also our individual relationships to books. Through this collaboration, I also had to learn how to let go of the project and trust another person with the work; something that was difficult for me to do.
Because of this collaboration, New Refuge was able to circulate in different parts of the world, allowing me to witness what felt like the afterlife of the book: how a project can continue its life, find new meanings beyond its original intention and place.
MAPA atbp. series was born out of the reading sessions of pook aralan unrelearning, an experimental school I have been organizing since 2019. In these sessions, artists and cultural workers from Laguna and nearby provinces gather around reading materials based on a theme. During these sessions, I found myself thinking deeply about the Laguna Copperplate Inscription and the location of pook aralan unrelearning itself, situated somewhere between urban Manila and the deeper province of Laguna. These reflections led me to think about the importance of documentation and archiving. How many (his)stories have been erased or not honored because of colonization. How many struggles, triumphs, and networks have disappeared because of repression and violence. Today, much of our lives pass through screens, stored in the cloud servers of tech giants. How do we record the life in our neighborhoods, the transformations, our love letters to friends and family, and our rich culture and history in ways that can exist beyond what is usual. For me, bookmaking is one possible answer.
For this project, I worked with ipo-ipo projects (designer Kristian Henson and artist Monica Ramos) who shared access to a risograph machine, design expertise, and other resources that made the project possible. I also worked closely with MAPA atbp. collaborators Franco Mamaril, Isola Tong, Jepren Solis, and Alfred Marasigan to brainstorm and co-design their respective projects. Beyond editing, I also took on administrative work, coordination, logistics, social media, and sales during book fairs.
How (or when) did you learn about artbooks.ph?
I heard about artbooks.ph through Wawi Navarroza through Thousandfold. I believe she introduced me to artbooks.ph founders Katya Guerrero and Ringo Bunoan in 2015.
Off the top of your head, what book would you recommend to the artbooks.ph Community?
Balai Vernacular, Edited by Julian E. Dacanay Jr., Published by Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1992
Can you describe the Philippines in one…
Song? Kundiman 1800 (Love Song circa 1800).
Phrase? "Hiyang hiya naman ako sayo noh!"
Meal? Easy Tortang Talong Recipe
Recipe? Ginataang Halo-Halo
Smell? USOK (lyrics) By: Asin
Time? Araw Gabi by Regine Velasquez, Philippines: timelapse of Mayon Volcano erupting during sunrise
Emotion? MAJA: Dahan-Dahan
Book? Pabasa Pasyon 2022 page 20-23
Sentence? Food Wars: Megan vs Arci
Sound? Riding on the Very Last PNR Train in Manila
Where were you born, and where do you live now?
Born in the province of Camarines Sur. Currently based in the province of Laguna.
Do you cook Adobo? Sinigang? Anything Filipino? Is there a recipe you want to share?
Yes, I do cook several Filipino dishes. One of my favorite dish to make is Ginataang Bilo-Bilo 😅
Can you recommend one Filipino author? Film?
Moral, 1982, Marilou Diaz-Abaya.
What is your favorite time of day in Manila?
Always the sunset.