“Hallelism captures the heart of the art viewer in an indescribable and riveting manner...William Yu, being the forerunner of this new ism…embraces the process in the creative act of worship to the Creator of the Universe.”
- Beberly Callaghan, Canadian Missionary to Philippines

His baritone voice rose with the gentle strumming of guitar, gradually ascending and drifting into the air with the spiritual lyrics of his composition... Slowly and quietly, the melodic sound ebbed away in transcendental silence, as this chinoy artist tranquilly mumbled a prayer before an empty canvas.

Then, in-between the unexpected silences, he spread his arms as if like a crane taking off from the marshland; his right hand, loaded with brush and paint, flailing across the windy air of his open studio, engaging in a rigorous but gentle stroke of paintbrush on the surface of his canvas.

Layer upon layer of loose forms and vivid primary colors began to take shape, gestural and dynamic strokes at the speed of 300 kilometers per hour suddenly emerged and, in less than an hour or so, William Yu’s Hallelism finally gave birth to an apotheosized work of art.

The uncanny scene from the beginning is provocative and awe-inspiring until, gradually, the artist unleashes the inner power of his artistic freedom - fashioning his spiritual art with mesmerizing effect on his viewers.

The resultant imagery of William Yu’s biblically coded composition sums up the momentary surge of excited passion in the spiritual process of his artistic performance. In the same manner, the actual process of creative enactment is the theatrical amalgam of William Yu being a painter, a high priest (exodus 35:30-32) and a performance artist.

His new method of art making has stirred controversy in the art scene for infusing religious belief and ritual in the course of art making. Similarly, his ardent critics labeled him as a charlatan born again Christian for being preachy about his faith in the context of his hallelistic art. However, to his close associate of artists and those who witnessed his riveting performance, he is like a Rabbi or a Bezalel in the bible (exodus 35:30-32) who conjures up the spirit to enlighten his process of worship to the Creator.

Hallelism, according to William Yu, is an act of creative worship to glorify God (Psalm 98:1-9) through painting. It is like any other charismatic activities such as singing or dancing except that he is using his art to praise and glorify God, the real Master of his aesthetic creation. In the process of art making, William Yu sings and dances through the rhythmic movement of his body and, like a high priest, he summons the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to guide his hand on the canvas.

Hallel as the etymology for Hallelism is derived from the Hebrew word which means “to praise or worship God”. The artist coined the word “Hallelism” for his new concept of art which involves the worship of God through mind, body and soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

According to Beverly Callaghan, a Canadian missionary who witnessed William Yu’s spiritual art performance, “Hallelism captures the heart of the viewers in an indescribable and riveting manner”. She described that William Yu, being the forerunner of this new ism, “…embraces the process in the creative act of worship to the Creator of the Universe.”

Creating a work of art in the context of worship is the mean concept of Hallelism. The ritualistic preparation before executing an artwork is vital to the whole process where the artist has to pray for the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8). The process in which the artist engages in his art is already an act of worship, and the result of that process (the artwork) is the product of Divine Inspiration.

The artwork in this context, however, is not the main objective of Hallelism but indispensably a part of the entire creative process of worship and adulation. The creative process, on the other hand, is not concerned with artistic style or technique for it is, according to William Yu, “an indefinite art with no definitive style and objective; it is constantly changing, and can only be deciphered through the infinite possibilities of coded symbol and images on the surface of the canvas…”

At the outset, William Yu is already known for his picasoid imagery of figures that, along with Filipino masters like Legaspi and Ang Kiukok, uses a palette knife, instead of paintbrush, in rendering oil color on the canvas.

His previous art characterizes an exaggerated geometric human figure with a seemingly twisted body postures. At times, it could be bleak or whimsical with festive and brilliant colors. The artist, however, had successfully portrayed the pathos and sensibilities reflective of Filipino values and culture.

Conversely, his current oeuvre is entirely different from his earlier works. The geometric shape of figures is deliberately defaced and dissolved into a rather disconcerting and loose juxtaposition of forms and colors. The aleatory rendition of brushwork is more fluid and dynamic in contrast to his calculated use of palette knife on the canvas.

Generally, his hallelistic art is not far from the abstruse and flattened surface of abstract expressionism. His current art is the reinvention of abstract expressionism’s automatist technique, albeit, it is done and inspired through the medium of spiritual worship, employing the same unconscious and random process of art making.

The epiphany of his art to our local art scene is an important development and contribution to Philippine art history. The birth of his spiritual art is an act of protest against the banal and the profane images that invaded our culture and society.

William Yu, in his own right, acted not only as a painter, but also as a high priest who exorcizes the secular nature of modern art by infusing religious faith and values in our decaying culture, and by bringing back the image of God in our modern world through spiritual art as an act of worship.

The significance of Faith in our time, according to William Yu, is an indispensable gift that liberates us from our uncertainties and sorrows; it gives us wisdom and direction in life amid the trappings of our secular world.

Master Yu, as he is fondly called among his friends and collectors in the US, is the artists’ artist, whose personality evokes humility, kindness and benevolence. His generosity to his fellow artists is unconditional. He shares his artistic gift by helping those who are eager to learn how to paint; he welcomes them with open heart and gives them shelter until they are confident enough to stand on their own.

His childlike faith in God characterizes the beatitudes that Yeshua or Jesus teaches at the Sermon of the Mount in the bible. And while living a very simple life with his family, William Yu lives his faith in total surrender to God and allows God to shape his art in accordance to His will.

As a born again Christian, he believes that art can become an agent of change in our society so long as it is directed to God (John 15:5, Isaiah 41:13) as the source of inspiration for any artistic endeavor. The artist, in this manner, is the medium or the interpreter of His message, which is revealed in his art through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Unlike in the canon of modern art where the movement of the spirit is horizontal, that is, the flattening of pictorial surface and the portrayal of the absurd and the irrational, William Yu is trying to redirect its course to its original direction – the vertical movement of the spirit between man and his Creator.