May Day’s Iconoclast
By: Kimberly Daphne Gari
The first day of the month of May is always been remembered since the first May Day celebration in 1903 in Philippine soil. Demonstrations and rallies are the customary scenes played before ones eyes. This is the time when labor unions, workers, and militant groups display their grievances for everyone, especially the government to see. But now, as the first May sun was slowly engulfed by darkness, Edbon Sevilleno is at Namit-Namit Taliambong Art Space, unveiling his works to the public’s eye, commemorating the day when the Union Obrero Democratica de Filipinas first marched from Tondo to Malacanang Palace to demand better working conditions.
Obreros, as Sevilleno’s exhibit was called is Spanish for workers. He especially prepared these collections as remembrance to the labor sector’s role to society. The government, he represents through the use of campaign buntings as ribbon for the opening ceremony. Sevilleno explains that the symbolism portrays the non-action of government to these concerns which have existed long before Martial Law era.
Highlighted in this collection are Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and local workers of Negros, the sacadas and the mamumugons. These recent collection is a progression from his former exhibitions, “Brandead,” a montage, collage and installation and “Banas,” a water color exhibition that solely tackles each of these group of workers.
Though it was said that this current exhibition is an evolution from former works, it is also a presentation in different forms and ideas that as much the artist wants to reveal in full the emotions of the persons enlivened in his paintings rather than just presenting the existence of these characters in society.
Giving logic to the existence of these particular members of society, Sevilleno created water color paintings juxtaposed with labels of products that we usually see such as fish sauce, rum, sugar, and medicine. This presentation in a way makes the observer see the value of the character in the painting to their lives which is basically the statement of the artist in this particular collection.
The Kargado series (uno hasta kuatro) on the other hand, pictures a laborer in the process of carrying a sack of rice above his shoulders. The face was not given much focus in this collection but you can feel from seeing the process that indeed this person is carrying more than the weight of the sack on his shoulder—his hopes, his dreams, and his struggles. Similarly, in the Obreros series (uno hasta kuatro), the spotlight is focused to the sacadas in their solitary daze where one sees faces lost to the routine of every day living and seemingly a never ending struggle.
In addition, the works titled “Tatay,” “Nanay”, “Toto Dako,” and “Toto Gamay” further elucidates the audience to the reality that these workers lives tend to move in a continues circle—the pattern of continues labor from father to mother, to their sons, and later to their grand children.
Here, the fluid illuminations of the water color as a medium gave life to the visible features of prolonged agony—ragged contour, dark shading, elaborate lines, and elaborate facial expressions. With all these, against an experimental mix of the abstract and the surrealist arrangement one would not fail to acknowledge the intensity of his statements regarding the physical manifestations of agony in the lives of his subjects.
Conversely, his oil paintings, also carrying the same arrangement, tackled the more emotional facet of these workers. “Gapos,” “Gisi sa Dughan,” and “Ka pin-ut,” are paintings depicting the anguish and the suffering from the limitations and the set borders these individuals are placed. The play of the red, orange, and blue in the background gives the impression of borders closing in to the subject—a claustrophobic state of being where freedom is lost. This aura is felt clearly with “Gin Pigos,” where one sees a man as if trying to move with great effort in a minute space, as if searching for that place to freely express ones person.
Other works as “Gin-Rip (Pigos I),” and “Ginhimuslan,” strongly communicates the feeling of solitude, loneliness, and undistinguished existence. The rich mix of orange and greens in the background with the subtle highlight and impasse application of paint made the colors harmonize in enlivening the warm hues of the body of the woman in the center of limbo. It tells of the living existence of these individuals despite being deemed unimportant by people (or even their own relatives). Value is only given when these individuals give their fruit—the products that we use, the balikbayan boxes received.
The other remaining works on the other hand are focused to OFWs. Being an OFW himself, Sevilleno did not hesitate to paint from his inner muse the nudging that came to him as recollections of his 18 years of oversees work visit him now and then. “I paint what I feel painting at the moment it hits me,” he shared.
The unveiling was a success, as declared by the artist. Artists of different walks of life came and celebrated through music and talks, the tribute to all Obreros.
Artistic Exposition of Sentiments on May Day
Bacolod City
Commemorating Labor Day, Negrense artist Edbon Sevilleno presented his latest solo art show, Obreros, "the abstract and the logic of workers existence" at Namit-Namit Taliambong Art Space, Saturday.
After the introductions, Negrense artist/sculptor Rafael Paderna geared with some talk about artists, the workforce, and politics. Then it proceeded with Ilonggo scholar Dr. Cecile Locsin-Nava, Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) candidate for councilor Juan Miguel "Migs" Estrella, and Padernal cutting the ribbon made from presidential candidates’ campaign buntings which Sevilleno explained represents the government’s non-action to the situation of laborers in the country.
A deviation from the usual rallies and demonstrations done in the commemoration of May Day, Sevilleno aired his resentments of the labor sector’s situation in public through his brush strokes, lines, colors, and rustic expressions painted in canvas.
He presented the predicament and feelings of the sacadas, mamumugons, and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), "the members in the workforce that are not given much attention even with their significant role to society," he said.
Having been an OFW himself for 18 years, Sevilleno placed his statements and emotions on canvas in an experimental mix of the surreal against an abstract background as in "Balhas, Luha, Dugo Kag Laway." He explained that the male figure having different tools for a brain is the skilled worker with the visible sight of sweat, tear, blood, and drool depicts the endless toil and struggle workers feel from the set borders they are obliged to move in. "It simply depicts powerlessness," he added.
On display are oil, mixed media, and water color with collage paintings.
Other than paintings, Sevilleno also made an art installation using twisted spoons and forks attached to the ceiling which according to him represents the tired laborers of our land who’ve already succumbed to hopelessness and death because of the inability to feed themselves and their family from their minute income.
Moreover, Sevilleno shared that he feels fulfilled of the exhibit because he saw and heard that people understood his works. "Hearing them speak about my works, I know that they understood and interacted with them," he said.
"It is a praiseworthy show for art collectors to see," said Rodney Martinez, a fellow Negrense artist and mentor of Sevilleno.
From his previous works, Obreros is an evolution. "Brandead" his installation, montage, and collage exhibit presents much about OFWs while "Banas" his watercolor exhibit presents more on local life and people at work. In Obreros both are given center stage, a tribute to their undying toil for a life of less suffering.
