Religious art may have lost its appeal in contemporary society and become incongruous with art galleries, but I believe it still holds tremendous power and relevance today. This statement applies especially to a deeply religious country like the Philippines where icons and images of worship hang in cars and public transport, elaborately attired statues of saints are enshrined in special niches in homes to be carried around town in a solemn procession during liturgical feasts, but whose government lies in shambles, mired in the web of corruption in unprecedented magnitude.
In my work Lamentations, a Prelude, I appropriate the stark realism and devotional intensity from religious iconography – seen in churches and cathedrals – to infuse my work as it confronts moral disorder and systemic evils in government, specifically human rights violations and the still unresolved crimes against humanity.
Lamentations, a Prelude is inspired by a time-honored tradition in art dating back to the Renaissance and Pre-Renaissance period that depicted narratives from the bible. The “Lamentations” was a favorite subject depicting the deposition of the lifeless body of Christ from the cross made famous by Italian terra cotta masters like Niccolo dell' Arca, Luca della Robbia, Guido Mazzoni & others in the late 14th century.
The drama and visceral, even raw, emotions expressed in these searing sculptures in clay leave an indelible impression as I search for a way to adequately express my own sorrow and outrage.
The sculpture group consists of the figures of Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Cleophas, Mary Magdalene and a fourth which is a contemporary and arbitrary inclusion that crosses the historical and cultural divide. The body of the dead Christ is missing but its presence is implied in the tableau.
Lamentations, a Prelude was conceived and actually modeled in clay (terra cotta) but due to time constraints it was cast (aborted if you will) in its present medium—polychromed cold-cast marble. The figures will eventually be “translated” into its final form in terra cotta or baked clay. Hence, the Prelude in the title, is a forecast of the final intended work.
This is not to disparage cast marble — which is a truly remarkable medium that I enjoyed in the past years, but simply to reinforce a longstanding advocacy of clay as a medium for high art. The cultural downgrading of terra cotta as marginal, provincial, vocational, lowly craft etc. may yet in time revert to its former Renaissance glory!
