Mga Bagul Sang Lubi II

I got the idea for this rather large painting while walking around the street market in Bacolod, a city in the Philippines, and seeing empty coconut shells spread out on the ground. 

The strong graphic quality (2-dimensional) of this image is tempered and held in tension by the 3-dimensional hollows of the coconut shells. The painterly quality of the remains of white coconut meat contrasts with the regular circular edges of the coconut shells,  which are arranged in diagonal rows, giving the whole composition a dynamic quality. For the palette, I stuck to earth tones, set off by the dark interstitial spaces. 

I was told that “bagul sang lubi” in the colloquial dialect of Ilonggo means “coconut skulls,” which gives another layer of meaning here in the Philippines, a peaceful country that has suffered under colonization by many countries. 

This painting, along several others, will be posted in the next few days. They will be part of a group exhibition called LAKBAY (which translates “VOYAGE” in English), opening today February 8 from 3-5 pm at Discovery Primea Hotel in Makati, Manila. The theme of the show centers around the work of Nena Saguil and 8 other Filipino expatriate artists working in diverse countries. I will participate in an “artist’s talk” from 4-6 at the same venue the next day, February 9. All are welcome!