Malbar Ferrer debuts solo photo exhibit ‘BREATH’

ILOILO CITY — For Dr. Malbar Ferrer, breath is more than a rhythm he knows well as a pulmonologist.

It is a quiet thread connecting people, animals, landscapes and the many forms of life he has encountered through his camera.

That idea takes center stage in “BREATH,” Ferrer’s first solo photography exhibit, which officially opened to the public Sept. 26 at the Hulot Gallery of the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art, or ILOMOCA.

Presented in partnership with the Gilopez Kabayao Foundation Inc., the exhibit brings together photographs Ferrer took over the past decade in various parts of the Philippines and abroad.

The collection moves between landscapes, wildlife and intimate portraits, creating a visual conversation about life, resilience and humanity’s connection with nature.

For Ferrer, the concept behind the exhibit draws from a subject he knows intimately through medicine.

“We arrived at the title ‘BREATH’ because the photographs on display all encompass—from nature to humans. You need that air, you need that breath to have life,” he said in an interview during the vernissage held a day before the public opening.

In the exhibit’s curatorial notes, Jose Roy Paniza identified three elements in the collection.

The Natural Framework focuses on landscapes and flora, while the Human Echo is represented by portraits depicting labor, youth, aging and solitude.

The Shared Pulse brings the two subjects together.

Ferrer also described the exhibit as a deeply personal journey.

But while the photographs bear his artistic vision, he emphasized that the journey was never his alone.

He expressed gratitude to his family, friends, fellow photographers and others who supported him.

Ferrer has been an active member of the Photographic Society of Iloilo since 2002 and served as its president in 2006.

Through PSI, he participated in various group exhibitions and photography initiatives.

He also worked with the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation in hosting “Crossing Bridges 7,” a program of the ASEAN Photographers Association.

Ferrer has also received awards in local and national photography competitions and conducted basic photography workshops.

His work has included documenting environmental concerns.

Following the 2006 Guimaras oil spill, he initiated a roving photography exhibition to raise public awareness of the disaster’s environmental impact.

His involvement in photography has also extended to the medical community.

Ferrer is a prime mover of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians’ Ginhawa Photography, which brings together pulmonary specialists with an interest in photography.

His most recent exhibition at ILOMOCA was in June 2026, when he shared the gallery with his son, Magin Benedict Ferrer, for “Mundane: A Father & Son Conversation.”

“BREATH” will be on view until Nov. 15.