Art De Leon
July 13 – 22, 2021
Art Underground
814 Balagtas St., Barangay Addition Hills, 1550 Mandaluyong
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The pandemic is a life-changing period in modern human history. Millions have fallen ill; hundreds of thousands have succumbed to the disease. Resources are at a minimum, which compelled visual artist Art De Leon to raise questions usually dismissed in the hustle and bustle of pre-pandemic life: what is and what isn’t in human control? How does one make sense of collective helplessness in the face of abrupt changes? What is the place of accident, fortune and misfortune in our life?
Fatalism has one answer: human agency is pointless. We are permanent victims of complex forces beyond our control. In moments of extreme vulnerability and loss of control, when things seem beyond rational understanding, practical people with their practical consciousness rely on ideas such as fate. They submit, surrender, resign themselves to and eventually accept their condition — “so be it.”
“That’s just the way it is” is a very common expression, a resignation to powerlessness. The characters are all standing and have rush past discomfort and onto acceptance of their fate. One simply has to endure, brave the chaos, and stand up the next day. They do not dwell, they simply move on. Faced with adversity and misfortune, they turn the other cheek, lick their wounds, and forget; that is the “Filipino Resiliency”.
The exhibit is inspired by the test of physical and mental resilience Filipinos are constantly facing in this pandemic. Art De Leon’s intention is to explore human condition and behavior in its dire and desperate state. He highlights a person’s virtues, qualities and characteristics through his sculptures, as he incorporates imperfection in a unique way that creates rhythm and ambiguity; resulting in a poignant depiction of human emotions. [Text by Grace Ng]
Michael Art De Leon (b. 1987 Orion, Bataan), is a product of Philippine Women’s University whose intricate sculptures and paintings are metaphor of his personal & social advocacies and expression. “That Will Do” is Art’s 4th solo exhibition for Art Underground.
