Propane Dreams

7/29/2019 Propane Dreams

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ROPANE DREAMS

Manila, PhilippinesMarch 2013

. D. BATAImages + Design LIZA T. AVELIN

All images were taken during the 18th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta at the Omni AviationComplex, Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, from February 21-24, 2013.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike 3.0 Philippines License.

AttributionYou must attribute this work using the following format:Propane Dreams (2013) by J. D. Batac and Liza T. Avelino.

No Derivative WorksOthers can only copy, distribute, display, or performverbatim copies of this work.

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Text J.D. BATAC

Images + Design LIZA T. AVELINO


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THE AERODYNAMICS

OF UNCERTAINTY

AND DESIRE

The notion of flight conjuresup a spectacle of imaginings:freedom, lightness of being,a change in vision and ofheart, wind-swept ideals,and some semblance ofoptimism brought by the idea

of chartering entirely newterritories.

But there is also dangerin fleeing from the familiarhumdrum of terracottarealities: soaring upwards,

even a single mistake isbound to shatter airbornefantasies and reduce themto fragments of negligibleimaginings.


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First, there is the collectiveroar of the propane burners,so piercing it cuts through thestillness of the late afternoondusk. Heads hover above thesteel fence to glance at the

wicker baskets, the breezeturning warm as the flamesshoot up in the air. There is apalpable sense of anticipationamong the crowd turningrestless as hours progressinto minutes, and minutesinto seconds, before finally theballoons take shape, slowly,like flickering ember morphinginto a beautiful, monstrousfire.


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By turns thrilling and fearsome, the slow ascent is

verily the culmination of all thats ever been plannedand imagined, the sum of a hundred and one minutiae,of joys and heartbreaks now teetering on the edge ofuncertainty.


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Each second morphs into a battle between faith andreason, of hopefulness and paranoia, the entire exercisea test of what it means to believe in the unfamiliar.


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There is a dreamy-like character to looking atthe world from the confines of a wicker basketsuspended in midair: suddenly the noise andfilth on the ground seem alien, and the brutephysicality of the world is tempered by theromance afforded by panoramic aerial views.

From above there is only the idea of a delicious,albeit temporal, escape.


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But lingering in the back of the mind is the fact thatwhen this sojourn to the clouds is over and done with,there is only one inevitable truth to deal with, andthats the truth on the ground.


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The descent back to the ground is anticlimactic both

in scope and form, a testament to the rigidity of theNewtonian laws of physics. But human imaginationis anything but rigid regardless of gravity and themeasurable nature of time and space.


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Indeed in that brief period spent flying above the worlds collective grief andhappiness, past landscapes of bruised desires and wanton abandon, is theidea of eternity and all its attendant contradictions.


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LIZA T. AVELINO is a visual artistwho spends most of her days as agraphic designer and illustrator for alocal publishing outfit. Her portfolioencompasses a diverse range ofoutputs that include, but is not limitedto, marketing collateral, event posters,book covers, websites, business cards,magazines, and billboards. She obtainedher fine arts degree from the PhilippineWomens University in Manila.

Portfolio: http://lizaavelino.wix.com/digitalportfolioTwitter / Instagram: @Liza_Avelino

J. D. BATAC works as an editorialassistant at an academic publishingfirm where he pores over textbook

manuscripts, coordinates productionwork, and assists in carrying out thefirms marketing initiatives. His workshave appeared in various books,newspapers, and magazines. Hegraduated with a degree in journalismfrom the University of the Philippines inDiliman, Quezon City.

Email:[email protected]


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Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.Henry David Thoreau

Propane Dreams

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