Published on November 2, 2024
INTRO
Walk through Manila’s urban neighborhoods – from Escolta to Cubao, from Poblacion to Pasig – and you’ll spot them: shimmering silver figures with big black eyes, long limbs, and faces that seem to be staring up at the sky. These are the Aliens in Manila – the iconic art project of Filipino visual artist Lee Roy, who uses otherworldly characters to make us look closer at our own city.
PART 1: WHO IS LEE ROY?
Short Essay: The Artist Who Welcomed Extraterrestrials to Manila
Lee Roy was born and raised in the heart of Manila, where the skyline is a mix of old Spanish houses and glass skyscrapers. As a child, he’d lie on the roof of his family’s home in Santa Cruz, staring at the stars and wondering if there was life beyond Earth. "I never felt like I fit in," he once shared in an interview. "So I started imagining friends who were just as ‘different’ as I felt – aliens."
After studying fine arts at the University of the Philippines, Lee Roy began his career as a graphic designer, but he always felt drawn to public art. In 2008, he quit his desk job to paint full-time – not in galleries, but on the walls of Manila. He wanted to create art that would make people stop rushing and look up, just like he did as a kid.
Today, Lee Roy is known for his playful, thought-provoking work that blends science fiction with Filipino urban life. He doesn’t just paint – he builds sculptures, designs street installations, and even leads workshops where kids get to create their own alien characters. For him, art is a way to make the impossible feel real.
PART 2: WHAT ARE THE "ALIENS IN MANILA"?
Significance of the Project
The Aliens in Manila series features tall, slender extraterrestrial figures – some painted on walls, others as life-sized metal sculptures. They’re often silver or white, with smooth surfaces that catch the Manila sun, and their eyes are always wide open – as if they’re observing everything around them.
The significance goes far beyond "space art":
- A symbol of "otherness": In a city where many people feel like outsiders – from migrants to young dreamers – the aliens represent what it means to be different, but still belong.
- A mirror to our world: Lee Roy’s aliens don’t just look at the sky – they interact with Manila life. Some hold jeepney signs, others sit on park benches next to people, and one even sells isaw at a street stall. They remind us that "strangers" can become part of our community.
- A call to wonder: In a busy city where we’re always focused on work or chores, the aliens make us stop and ask questions – "What if?" "What else is out there?"
PART 3: THE STORY OF THE ALIENS IN MANILA
How Extraterrestrials Landed in the City
It started on a hot night in 2010. Lee Roy was walking home from a friend’s house in Escolta when he saw a blank wall covered in posters and graffiti. He’d been carrying a can of silver paint in his bag, and on impulse, he painted a small alien peeking out from behind a street lamp.
The next morning, he returned to find someone had drawn a small sipa ball next to the alien, as if they were playing together. A week later, another artist added a second alien holding a halo-halo cup.
"That’s when I knew," Lee Roy said. "The aliens weren’t just my art – they belonged to Manila now."
He began painting more aliens across the city, each one tailored to its neighborhood. In Cubao, he painted an alien fixing a jeepney’s engine. In Intramuros, an alien wore a barong tagalog and stood next to a kalesa. In 2015, he built his first metal sculpture – a 7-foot tall alien holding a sign that read "WELCOME TO MANILA – WHERE EVERYONE IS AN ALIEN SOMETIMES" – and placed it in Liwasang Bonifacio.
The project grew to include workshops for street kids, who painted their own aliens on walls in Tondo. One 10-year-old participant named Kiko painted an alien helping his grandmother sell vegetables – "He’s not from another planet," Kiko said. "He’s just someone who wants to help."
PART 4: WHY THE ALIENS MATTER
The Importance of This Art
The Aliens in Manila project has become more than just street art – it’s a movement that touches lives across the city:
- For marginalized communities: In areas like Baseco Compound, where many people feel invisible, the aliens remind them that their stories matter. A mural of an alien teaching kids to read has become a local landmark.
- For Filipino culture: Lee Roy blends sci-fi with local traditions – aliens wearing baro’t saya, playing billiards, or eating lechon kawali. This shows that our culture can be part of big, imaginative stories.
- For the future: The project inspires young people to dream big. Many students who joined Lee Roy’s workshops have gone on to study art or design, saying the aliens taught them that being "different" is a superpower.
OUTRO
Next time you’re walking around Manila and spot a silver alien on a wall, pause for a moment. Look at how it fits into our city – how it laughs with us, works with us, and dreams with us. Maybe we’re all aliens in our own way, just trying to find our place in this big, beautiful world.
Want to see where the aliens are hiding? Follow Lee Roy on Facebook @LeeRoyArt – and if you spot one, share a photo with #AliensInManila!
BLOG DETAILS
- Categories: Filipino Art, Street Art, Public Installations
- Featured Image: A photo of a silver alien sculpture holding a jeepney sign in Escolta
- Comments Open: Have you seen an alien in Manila? Tell us where!
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