Gamot

This painting is like a collage of images from my diary. The central image is borrowed from Juan Luna's masterpiece, SPOLARIUM, in Manila's National Museum. The Three Graces at the top left are based on my three cousins and the mangosteen that anchors them is my favorite fruit. The object at the upper right is the jawbone of a carabao fashioned into a ceremonial weapon-- it evokes the story of Samson which I often use as a metaphor of contemporary Filipino history.  The man in the lower right is the observer, the Filipino Everyman with his fighting cock. The passage scribbled behind the mangosteen reminds me that, "Kung indi ka kahibalo sang imo ginhalinan, indi ka maka-bot sa imo pagdulongan." The design in the background is inspired by indigenous textiles.