Julie Lluch at Art Fair Philippines
February 21 – 23, 2020
Opening
February 21 (Friday), 10 am – 9 pm
The Link
Ayala Center, Makati City
A montage is formed from casts made of Julie Lluch’s past works: Philippines heroes, politicians, personalities, mingle with her other more personal works, forming the cast of the artistic life of Lluch; a brief summary of her life’s work, and at the same time, an unintended reflection of our nation’s history. What Lluch has intended to be an introspection of her work and a meditation on the ephemeral nature of beauty, particularly when materiality is cumulatively affected by time, weathering, and chance; uncannily parallels the dystopic state of our nation, as a product of our tumultuous histories, as all her past works surround, as if in agitation and confusion, the newly made three-dimensional tableaux of a man dragging the body of a slain gladiator – a scene we are familiar with – from Juan Luna’s Spoliarium.
cold cast marble
cold cast marble
cold cast marble
cold cast marble
terra cotta
All of the earlier works, which were made mostly to showcase the highlights of our nation and the collective achievement of our country – the heroes, the politicians, and personalities – stand witness to this seen of abject horror and defeat: the fallen warrior unceremoniously dragged across the dirt, about to be divested of whatever properties are on his body, bereft of honor and dignity. By faith – or by willful negation – we can choose to see how the horror of the Spoliarium, once the metaphor of our nation, has once won our Luna a coveted gold medal, and inspired Rizal to claim that “genius has no nation,” staking our claim in equal humanity. Perhaps, as Lluch suggests, art will be parcel of the grace that will finally allow us to transcend our condition.
curated by Ricky Francisco
