‘Habilin’ by TLYR Collective at Art Fair Philippines 2026
Last Feburary 6-8, 2026, TLYR Collective (pronounced talyer) held the exhbition “://habilin_” as the ArtFairPH/Digital presentation.
Upon seeing the works in “://habilin_,” there was a certain connectedness that could be felt. It wasn’t obvious at first, but after several visits to the exhibition, it began to unfold.
Curated by artist, cultural worker, and co-founder of TLYR Collective, Jopet Arias, the exhibition is meant to explore heritage, the human act of giving legacy to the next generation.
Originally working together as CryptoartPH, the times moved quickly, and as an act of natural adaptation, the collective was reborn as “TLYR” or “talyer,” which is usually a workshop for heavy machinery, particularly vehicles. It derives from the Spanish “taller” and the French “atelier,” which in turn is used for more delicate or fragile arts and crafts. Somehow this new iteration of the collective straddles both.
Arias talks about the seeds of “://habilin_” coming from his dream of forming an indigenous narrative. “Habilin” as a word translates as an act of entrusting, a safekeeping of a legacy. It is also tantamount to a last will. The exhibition is a melting pot of varied mediums and techniques, marrying the traditional with the digital. In the post-internet, AI age, Arias sees this as “transforming part of us” for the next generation; “a digital alchemy that creates a cultural artifact” for the future.
Each of the works in “://habilin_” is a sum of parts, each made up of elements, pieces, brushstrokes, cutouts, mapping, commands, and prompts that separately need its own time, space, effort, and dedication. Arias describes these as “singing in harmony” amidst an “ocean of noise,” where if many artists pull together and combine resources, change can happen, history can be made.
After several visits to the exhibition, what stood out in the title “://habilin_” was the word “habi” — to weave.
For every artist, their skill and their chosen medium was like the making of threads, of dyeing the colours. Weft and warp, design and concept then come together as the thread goes into the weaving process: paghahabi. Like what Arias had stated, it is a transformation that creates an object d’art: a life blanket. From the “inabel” of the Ilocos, to the “t’nalak” of the T’boli of South Cotabato, these woven archives of heritage are given to newborns as blankets, and accompany them through life’s ups and downs, until its final purpose as a burial shroud.
It can be said that in “://habilin_” the point is not that things have come to an end, but that it is a point of rebirth and renewal, and passing on a legacy to a new generation that we may or may not understand, yet bears a memento of the previous generations’ will.
The exhibition featured works by Andre Baldovino, Angelica So, Dedman, Dave Lock, Francis Lim, Gerecho Iniel Cruz, Hero Granada, Isaiah Cacnio, James Fowler, Jopet Arias, Katherine Nuñez, Kevin Roque, Marika Callangan, Mning, Pepe Mendoza, Remster, Roan Alvarez & Sam Feleo, Sigwada Knicolai, and Sheila Ledesma as the threads that have been woven into the life blanket that is “://habilin_.”
Written by Francisco Jin Sung Lee | Koki Lxx
Writer | Artist | Curator
Watch our Archival Series: ‘In Studio With’ Ep. 01 | Jopet Arias: ‘Pagbubuklod’ & TLYR Collective’s ‘Habilin’ at AFP26.
