An artist’s ode to the virtue
Emmanuel Garibay’s latest work features characters from a classic
Indeed, the words of our national hero was taken to heart by renowned artist, Emmanuel
“Manny” Garibay and this was embodied in his latest exhibit, “Sagwan,” which prominently features characters from the iconic Noli Me
Tángere. Garibay was reacquainted with the novel following a six-week Artist in Residency (AiR) program, in Ibaan, Batangas. It was during this time he contemplated upon the relevance of the highly-regarded novel, known for its sharp depiction of the cancers of society. This became the catalyst for Garibay’s latest collection, which reintroduced the pivotal characters in an effort to draw parallels to the issues he has observed in present-day Philippines.
Elaborating on the title piece, Garibay dialed in on the “Sagwan” as an instrument of steering and propelling. Building upon the cli- mactic scene of Elias’ diving into the waters to distract the guardia
civil, thereby offering himself as a sacrifice to save the life of Ibarra, Garibay presents Elias, symbolic of an everyman, as a boatman that provides direction. “What happens when he plunges to save Ibarra?” Garibay asked. “Who then will steer the boat and to where? I’m using this image as an allusion to the state of the country and its lack of direction, as well as the abandonment of the one steering the country,” he said. “That is my way to generate metaphors to dramatize the state of the nation.”
Sisa, the deranged mother driven to madness from the death of her son, was also portrayed in the collection in a nod to the mothers behind victims of recent killings. The search of Sisa for her son, Garibay explained, mirrors a nation’s search for its soul. His presentation of Maria Clara, however, in offering insight to the burden women carry, aimed to showcase the strength of the character veering away from the traditional presentation of the demure and timid woman. “In the novel, the character is very weak,” he said. “But in the end, readers find out the burden she has been carrying. Contrary to what may have been the initial impression, she’s a strong and brave woman.” In Garibay’s portrayal, Maria Clara is carrying the globe, in celebration of her strength. Garibay also aimed to highlight Maria Clara’s resilience and control of the situation, by her initiative to kiss Ibarra, against societal expectations.
The value of virtue, and the importance of ingraining it in the hearts and minds of modern society, is what drove Garibay to create the collection. “In those days people were willing to make sacrifices,” he said. “This is what’s missing in society right now, the concept of
‘karangalan.’ We’re always at the edge of some kind of crisis. There’s no sense of urgency, no sense of concern. This bahala na attitude, then we cry in anguish. That’s mostly the problem as some leaders see it as an occasion for them to capitalize.”
In Garibay’s artwork, the characters have no mouth, “wala silang bibig,” as he pointed out. “It’s a statement of how the wisdom of the past remains unheeded. In order to get better, we need to have deep awareness of who we were. We have to find out more about who we were, because the past has so much to teach us.”
Another point Garibay wanted to highlight is the value of art. “Jose Rizal was martyred not because he was a doctor, but because he was an artist,” Garibay said. “He got in trouble with the authorities. But he took a risk in order to awaken the consciousness of the nation. We go through a cycle of being disconnected, but it is our past that keeps telling us who we are.”
The ode of Garibay is not only borne from his appreciation of the works of Rizal, but his deep admiration for Rizal as a person. “I think we should keep reminding ourselves of how we are connected to him,” he said. “We often take pride of Filipinos that make it in the international scene, such as in sports or entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there is that shift in the iconography, and we don’t celebrate people enough based on the merit of their virtues. Take Rizal, we can’t say he’s a saint, but the point is what made him commit to his beliefs. These are no longer the virtues we celebrate.”
In this collection, Garibay underpins the need for the values espoused by Rizal on nationhood, sacrifice, and chivalry.
Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinangalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan (He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination).
–Jose Rizal.