More often than not, sticking to what you do best keeps things simple, and guarantees the most success.  Such is the case with Space And Two Points, the two-person exhibit of Nona Garcia and MM Yu, currently on at MO Space. By tapping into the photo-based aspects of their art practice, they bring us collaborative works that come together seamlessly while still retaining both their imprints.  You get the sense that they both thought this show through.  Or perhaps, their friendship allowed them to work comfortably with each other, melding common elements of their art into remarkable joint pieces.

My favorite work of the exhibit, Hallow/Hollow, hangs high on the gallery’s long wall.  The title is a pun on the combined nature of the piece while making reference to one of Nona’s previous pieces: her work from Pinto Art Museum’s collection, an assemblage of negative images of santos called Hallow.  By culling more of those images to alternate with MM’s own photographs of kitschy religious figurines, we get a string of oval-shaped light boxes, each one individually embellished with its own frame.  I’ve always been a fan of Nona’s x-ray light boxes. They have emerged even more memorable here, integrated with MM’s collected photos.

A Few Of My Favorite Things and Sit transform MM’s previous pieces into the photo assemblages that make up Nona’s ongoing body of work.  We saw the former as a diptych in Waste Not Want Not, MM’s solo show from last year. On a nearby wall, her photos of various chairs, none of them in pristine condition  (dilapidated sofas, rough wooden benches, a sagging rattan chair), comprise the assemblages for the series Sit.  A dozen of these small-scale pieces have been set atop shelves, mounted to mimic objects for sale.

Individual works from the two artists round out the five of the exhibit. Leftover paint scraped off from palette knives since 2005 form the mound that Nona calls Unfinished. It stands directly in front of MM’s Pantone, an assortment of photographs from disparate objects— blades of grass, an old gate— that resemble blocks of color.  The title obviously refers to the guide consulted by painters like Nona.  Even separately, they made sure to bring out work that could converse with each other but still stay interesting on their own.

Space And Two Points runs from 30 April to 29 May 2011 at MO Space, 3F MO Design Bldg., B2 Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.  Phone (632) 856-2748 or visit http://www.mo-space.net