Despite the short plane hop and the number of Filipinos in Hong Kong, surprisingly we don't get many Philippine artists exhibiting over here. Compare their showing here with the work of the Vietnamese and the Taiwanese, and you'd be forgiven for thinking there really wasn't much of an arts scene over there.
Just occasionally Hong Kong gets a hint of a thriving community. This month offers an interesting contrast: Emmanuel Garibay and Wilfredo Alicdan are showing until October 17 at Galeriasia. Alicdan seems to have stumbled into his career almost by accident with his simplistic, charming paintings that are narratives of Pinoy, contemporary Filipino. His are flat colours, sparse details, figures with studied body language.
Everything about Garibay, on the other hand, is more driven, more intense. A founding member of the collective Sanggawa, he joined other artists who strove to mix their individual styles to create one work that appears to be executed by one artist. The aim? To counteract the West's cult of the individual artist. The result? Highly political subjects which intensified as the country's concerns grew.
At Galerasia, Garibay is showing his own works (see Pamana, left) in two styles, abstract on the one hand, precise and realistic on the other. His subjects are about social and political concerns, history, an affinity with the masses, about the inner strength of Filipino men, women and children and their fight for sheer survival. In his paintings, fatigue, powerlessness and despondency are etched on the faces of those trying to eke a living. He calls his approach social realism. It presupposes a continuing story: the newsboy, the cigarette vendor, the tired woman activist, the glue sniffing boy - characters from the bottom of Philippine society's social rung. The viewer is offered a view from within.
Although he's worked full time as an artist for the past 10 years, Garibay's works reflect the fact he's held a Masters of Divinity degree since 1995, though he aims to remain free of the institutional church. No surprise then that his work includes a strong expression of Filipino spirituality. But Garibay rejects colonial religious models which he feels create an identity crisis that prevents his people from assessing their situation from their own perspective.
His works reflect a belief that art can be an effective medium for awakening consciousness. A genuine cultural revolution through art can help people pull themselves out of their despondency and feeling of powerlessness. Awakened consciousness through art can help bring change. Garibay offers a more than a hint in his work of the diversity of form, style and topics in Philippine contemporary art. Though his work may seem to have little to do with Alicdan's, both paint work that is about people and the human condition. Together, they offer an intriguing look at where Filipino artistic expression is heading.