At the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia Complex, a wall now holds a commanding new presence with the unveiling of the “1st Venus Stones Mural” by multi-media artist Anna Vergel RS. The monumental work transforms a simple passageway into a space that invites visitors to slow down and look.
The mural measures 9 by 17 feet and demanded far more than artistic imagination.
It required stamina. A proud alumna of the University of the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, Vergel spent months completing the piece while balancing studio work, athletic training, and family life. Creating it meant long hours on ladders and scaffolds, painting, lifting, reaching, and returning day after day until the composition finally came together.
“The scale of the work demanded more than creative vision. It required endurance,” Vergel said. “There were days when the body felt the strain, but commitment to the work kept me going. Each layer became part of a process that was both physically and creatively transformative.”
The mural was commissioned and personally curated by Hans T. Sy, chairman of the executive committee of SM Prime Holdings Inc. It now occupies a prominent space inside the SMX Convention Center where thousands of visitors pass through each day.
For Vergel, the finished piece is only part of the story. Beneath the final image are months of discipline and repetition, shaped by the same persistence she brings to both sports and art.
“What the audience sees is the final image,” she said. “Behind it are countless hours of effort and belief in the work.”
The “1st Venus Stones Mural” is now open for free public viewing on the ground floor of the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia Complex.
