Ibaloi artist Joey Simsim hails from Baguio City and Benguet. AGI (Arts Guild of Itogon), Inc., a Benguet artist organization, is currently led by him as its founder and president.
He is skilled with oil paints, displaying his technique and palette strokes that blend realism with hints of impressionism and surrealism. His distinctive style is reflected in his artwork, which depicts depths and illusions drawn from individuals, natural things, and the environment of his mountainous home.
Joey Simsim captures the ephemeral dreams of innocence in an act of visiting a strange, forgotten realm, offering a thoughtful look at the lost world of childhood. Simsim may be lamenting his own youth, lamenting the dashed hopes that have caused him to become cynical at such an early age. Is it a reproachful look? Is it an elegiac cry for the past? Is it a remonstration for unforgiven offenses that have refused to heal over time? No matter.Simsim faithfully fulfills his responsibilities as a historian, narrator, and storyteller in his capacity as an artist, maintaining the appropriate distance while still showing compassion for the inner child that all of us harbor. His creations are bouquets of solicitude and redemption that seek to restore childhood, the most cherished stage of human existence.