Artist Allan Balisi's oil-painted figures convey ambiguous narratives

Born in the Philippines, artist Allan Balisi uses oil paints on canvas to convey engaging yet ambiguous narratives through closely cropped shots of people and places. Using a sparse palette of white, black, grey and midnight blue, Allan depicts an almost eerie, quiet atmosphere where his subjects have been captured in private and reflective moments.

The artist is strongest when he hones in on these figures, making us focus on their forms, their body language and their relationships to others in the frame. The lack of colour gives them an interesting quality, as though we’re peeking at the negatives of an old roll of film. Leaving us to make our own stories makes Allan’s work captivating and this notion of uncertainty is translated through the facial features of his characters, where we’re given just an impression of eyes, noses and mouths.