Mar 29, 2024

Barnis

Mukhang barnis na mahogany 
‘yung dugo sa senakulo at Via Crucis, 
pero cornstarch ‘yan at food coloring, 
para kang nagluto ng pandikit 
 pero sinasangkap maging dahon ng Biblia 
 at itong pang-araw-araw nating isip, 
salita at gawa, sali na rin ang balat 
 nitong mga gumaganap 
na kinakagat-kagat ng burillo 
kahit pa medyo ginigilid ng mga centuriones 
ang kanilang mga palo sa kahoy ng krus
 at sa hump sa aspalto, kung gayon, 
may totoo nang dugo sa timpla 
ng props, may tsismis kung sino 
sa aming kumpulan ang labis kung lumuhod, 
sino ang pabaya, kanino ang pagmamalaki ng 
hoy a, nagbuhat na ako last year, 
 nag-abot na kami kahapon,
 wala ka sa fasting ng lolo ko, 
sino ‘yang nakapaa, balita ko nanalbahe, teka 
kanino ba itong naka-sleeveless na AFAM, ang totoo? 
Nilalagyan ko ng suka ang pandikit 
 upang magtagal at hindi amagin
 ngunit kaunti lang kasi ayokong mangamoy-asim, 
ayan, binitawan na ang Nauuhaw ako, 
ayan na ang kamao ng basahan, sa dulo 
ng paminaw ng sinampay, 
isinawsaw sa galon ng suka, 
 halos isuksok na sa duguang mukha, bibig, 
kay Malou ba ‘yan hindi naman mukhang kano 
sabihin mo tanggalin ang shorpet, 
sa Pilipinas lang nakatikim ng simbahan? 
Food coloring ba ito kuya? 
Wala kaming makuha e, puros dyobus. 
Iwas-iwas na lang mahampas sa mata.

Mar 5, 2024

𝐋𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐍, 𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐀, 𝐋𝐈𝐇𝐀𝐌, 𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐀, 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍

Two millennia ago, the first sator square was discovered in the ruins of Pompeii, among pumice and volcanic ash. Since then, many other excavations revealed these same Latin words—SATOR, AREPO, TENET, OPERA, ROTAS—engraved on doorknobs and wall fragments, etched on boxes, and even skulls. From the debates, we learn that perhaps the cryptogram had magical or incantatory properties, that it functioned as a mystical lock.

Likewise, 𝐋𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐍, 𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐀, 𝐋𝐈𝐇𝐀𝐌, 𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐀, 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍 mark our claims to home. In this collaborative project, each artist receives a sator-type square based on keywords that they use to personally represent the locale of their birth, their dwelling, and their artistic practice (while suppressing specific information). Released, our creations move porously between text (the grid) and art (the visual forms). We unlock place and memory in this manner: gathering letters to unleash images, meeting in symbol to step out into the light of day.​


Exhibit opens this March 7, 2024 at Gallery One of the UP Fine Arts Gallery.

​March 7 | 2 PM | Artist Talk

March 7 | 4 PM | Exhibit Opening

​FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

​Walk-in guests are warmly welcome from Tuesdays to Saturdays, 9 AM - 4 PM. For bookings, visit bit.ly/ParolaVisitorsForm or email us at cfagallery.upd@up.edu.ph​

See you!