As the country commemorates 500 years of Christianity, 32 artists, photographers, and designers reflect on the Philippines’ most lasting colonial heritage to express faith, doubt, indifference, and humor. The works are staged to mimic the Stations of the Cross – a Catholic devotion that follows Jesus Christ’s last moments culminating in his burial. Instead of depicting the traditional 14-steps, the exhibition’s stations express the participants’ perspective on spirituality & religion, conveyed through cross-pollination of media and techniques.
The first station initiates the viewer to a baptismal ritual, leading to a wall of paintings that explore institutional and social critique. In the main hall, glass bibles introduce a triumvirate of biblical characters asserting their import, concluded by a grotto/altar that invites personal reflection.
A procession of skulls positioned along the stairs guides the viewer to an improvised shrine to virginity, next to a black room that features documentation of faith and fandom. In the same space, soft sculptures beside an image of a female nude dismantle sexual taboos. All the while, viewers will find fragile figurines randomly positioned around the gallery, to serve as reminders of the doubts that weave in and out of our spiritual consciousness.
The stations’ last stop is a Santo Niño circus, featuring various interpretations of the popular icon. It speaks to our emancipation from colonial impositions, and our right to self-determination in the spiritual realm.
Organized by Omnibus MNL, the show runs up to January 8, 2021, at Modeka Gallery (La Fuerza Compound, Don Chino Roces Ave., Makati City).
