the Uncoloured was started in 2009 by Luis Medina, who had found it a worthy cause to improve his writing through deliberate practice. At that point in his life, he was going through the motions, trying to finish his college education, and looking for more out of life than what was available to him. “the Uncoloured” refers to the commonplace — platitudes or even stock imagery — which had lately become a defining theme of the activities, events and ideas that were coming into Luis’ life during that time. With the Uncoloured, he attempted to infer the deeper intentions and larger purposes of some of his day to day experiences — and articulate these through fictionalized accounts of the events as he saw it. Initially inspired by Spider Jerusalem from Warren Ellis’ seminal work, Transmetropolitan, the writing style and the motivation (to find truth behind events) are extremely prominent in many of the earlier works, and the inclination to socio-political angles on the topics has also become evident in some notable cases.
In 2011, the Uncoloured was joined by Joyen Santos, a budding visual artist. Joyen enabled the use of an altogether different medium — fine art photography. This element catalyzed a new dynamic in the creation of new material, and opened up new avenues for expression, as well as gave enough reason to develop more skills between the two authors. These collaborations are exemplified in an ongoing series of photo-essays, which Luis and Joyen produce irregularly (as the need or desire for expression arises).
the Uncoloured has since turned into the default moniker for collaborations between Luis and Joyen, which go beyond the stories and photographs exhibited on this website. In 2013, Joyen released her short film, ang Libingan ng mga Pantas ng Perya (English title: Where the Fairy Gods Lie) produced under the Uncoloured, as part of requirements in Film School. The film has received critical acclaim and is well-celebrated in film circles around greater Manila. the Uncoloured is currently working on a new film.