“Stay true to your vision even if you’re the only one who sees it.”

None truly fits this quote better than what my good friend and exemplary artist Kublai Millan did to the protected lush hills of Kapatagan, Davao del Sur many years ago.

Transforming a verdant landscape into a whimsical, straight-out-of-fairytale vision, Kublai Art Garden is a masterpiece of pure joy, transporting you back into childhood memories that exist in your mind, fuelled by his trademark giant sculptures, eclectic architecture, and mindblowing art pieces scattered on this undisturbed piece of land.

If you want to know how an artist’s mind works like his, maybe one day when the pandemic subsides, you can visit the surreal Agong House in Kublai’s Art Garden and soak in sights and peculiarities. Simply get lost in inspiring thoughts that maybe, when matters pull you down, there are ways to pull you up as well… and life just isn’t so bad after all.

Kublai was also my first photography mentor in the late 90s when we used to have our films developed in Kodak shops.

Kublai’s Art Garden ©Jojie Alcantara