Born in 1975 in Manila, Poklong Anading is fascinated by processes of creation and metamorphosis, and explores sociopolitical and environmental issues across a wide range of mediums. Trained as a painter, he draws on the materials and found objects that he comes across as he works. In the provinces of Davao de Oro and Batangas, for example, he salvaged abandoned fishing nets and transformed them into sculptures.

The Mabini site in Batangas is one of the birthplaces of underwater diving. Poklong Anading chose to return there to develop a project as part of Latitudes, a programme in support of new international photography initiated by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès in partnership with the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris and the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York. Selected as the programme’s third laureate, Anading chose to undertake a close observation of the landscapes in this area, which has been transformed by tourism, and to meet with the people who form part of its ecosystem. Madini’s diving instructors, teachers, fishermen, marine biologists and volunteers all helped him understand this unique space between land and sea, whose preservation is vital.

Light is at the heart of Anading’s in situ photographic work, Mabini Crossing: From Ridge to Reef, and acts as a link between people and places. His series examines different conditions and atmospheres.  At times, light obscures subjects’ faces through an interplay of reflections, elsewhere its chromatic richness comes through views of the landscape. For Anading, photography always hides as much as it reveals.

Created in 2026 with support from the Foundation through the Latitudes programme, this series will debut at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris, before further exhibitions at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York and in the Philippines. It will also feature in a dedicated book co-published by Atelier EXB and the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès.