“The Neon God We Made”: Filipino Photographer Explores Cyber Manila in Neon Noir

According to Lucius Felimus, Manila’s cyberpunk photographer: “My name is Jaime Javier, but I also go by my artist moniker Lucius Felimus.

Being an architect by trade has trained my eye for buildings and urban environments. I started photographing architecture and cityscapes as part of my course requirements back in college. However, it was only in the summer of 2019 that I really took photography seriously.

I grew up on sci-fi movies and video games, which cemented my fascination with futuristic environments. That’s why I had this idea for a worldbuilding project with the goal of experiencing my city as a futuristic cyberpunk setting. Due to my lack of skills in drawing and illustrating, I chose photography as my artistic medium instead. I started going out on the streets shooting with my smartphone, then later taught myself how to use a DSLR camera.

Because there are very few photographers who shoot this style of photography in Manila, I took it upon myself to fill this niche and establish a reputation as Manila’s cyberpunk photographer. I also want to introduce the world to Metro Manila as the next cyberpunk megalopolis of the future, in addition to the better-known East Asian neon cities such as Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo. I’m actually surprised that Manila is not a popular destination for my fellow cyberpunk photographers around the world despite it having plenty of high-tech, low-life, and neon noir aesthetics to boot.

And that’s where I come in – I want to show this side of my city that they don’t show in travel ads and posters.

Welcome to Cyberpunk Metro Manila!”

More: Lucius Felimus, Instagram, Twitter, book “Cyber Manila Megalopolis”. You can also buy his works as NFT on Hicetnunc.