"Bangis Pare!" chuckles graphic artist Rom Villaseran after hearing a particularly inane joke. He throws back his head in laughter and gives a thumbs-up gesture. Easy-going, laid-back and with a youthful sense of humor, Rom is not one of the brooding artist types one would expect to be creating the dark images seen in his works.

Strewn all around Rom's Voodoo Studios are art materials, unfinished plaster sculptures, a polaroid stack of nude studies, odd pieces of dismantled machinery and the severed head of a walking doll. Amidst the disarray a prevading sense of order is palpable. One couldn't help but get the feeling that Rom would know exactly where his art materials would be even if he gropes for them in the pitch darkness. Inexplicably, Tori Amos' wailing in the background adds to the impression.

His works are replete with shadowy mythological figures, celestial beings and denizens of the netherworld. He also makes extensive use of obscure images, which upon close scrutiny, turn out to be the crests and crevices of the female body.

Interestingly, the human bodies that he uses as a subject in his art defy the conventions of beauty and normal human anatomy. "A woman's body, regardless of age or body type, has mysterious qualities," say Rom, explaining his fascination with the female form. It is also apparent in his work that Rom uses nubile physiques and withering old bodies to impart a story and add character to the entire composition rather than to simply titillate or elicit a visceral reaction from the viewer.

"These characters live in my head. I give them a name and I talk about them as if they were really existing. Some figures are manifestations of what I fear, others are borne of more benign emotions," explains Rom. An example is a male character named "Ulan" which is a recurring theme in several of his works. According to Rom, this distinctive characer, who appears with what looks like a Greek temple on his head, is the embodiment of his unborn son, the son that he will have in the future.

Although the images that he usually creates are subverted human forms, there is a certain sensitivity and elegance by which the twisted physiques and otherworldly characters are rendered. An almost imperceptible feeling of respect or empathy for the subject matter could be gleaned from viewing his work. Despite the unfamiliar visages and compositions, his art does not alienate. It instead speaks mutely of connectedness.

To create graphic representations of the uncanny figures coming from the depths of his imagination, Rom uses painting, live-model photography, picture scrap collages, and a variety of other media. he also does resin and plaster sculptures and installations made from discarded appliances and car parts. Some of these 2-dimensional works are again photographed and the resulting images are digitally reworked using Adobe software. The artist who is in his early 20's has been exposed to classical art since he was 5 years old. He studied architecture at UST until his junior year, then after a 6 month stay in New York, he resumed his studies but this time at the UP College of Fine Arts.

Aside from his participation in art competitions and preparation for his solo show this October, Rom is kept busy by his involvement in the local music scene. He designed the debut album of the local hard metal rock band Cheese and was nominated for Best Album Packaging at the 1999 NU107 Rock Awards. He also has projects with bands such as Greyhoundz, Slapshock and Parokya ni Edgar which are also on heavy rotation at NU107. This year Rom got an even bigger project from NU107 as he was commissioned to comceptualize the visuals for the promotional materials of the upcoming Rock Awards 2000 in November.

"The music scene is not that different from the art scene. A lot of fusion is happening across various music genres and people are now more open to new types of music," says Rom. According to him, this general receptivity to innovation is a boon for technology-savvy young visual artists like himself who continually experiment with new art forms and media. The internet, for example, serves as a virtual forum where artists can reach a wider audience. This type of promotion in cyberspace is already being done for the local music industry and similar efforts are currently being made for Filipino visual artists.

Rom is also presently in the process of putting together a graphic novel with an accompanying soundtrack CD. The graphic novel would feature his art and specially created musical compositions inspired by the storyline. Two illustrated stories for the graphic novel have already been written by Rom and preparations are currently being made with his favorite bands and musicians for the audio recording.