By Gem Canlas
“Art is not a mirror to hold up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it.” – Bertolt Brecht
A coffin. A parade. An installation. A defiant spectacle of collaboration and reaction. This was the unveiling of Art Pest: Society of Creative Puppets in the String of Monsters by the artists of Iloilo. Their provocative opening act, titled Vulgarade, was followed by Banderitas ni Judas, where the artists marched from the streets into the gallery, carrying their biting critique of the Iloilo City government’s arts council. With every step, their chants and declarations pierced through the facade of civility, building to a collective outcry of frustration, “Yudipota!” – delivered with the might of the disenfranchised.
The 2024 Iloilo Arts Festival last October boldly claims to celebrate the city’s cultural heartbeat, asserting that the organizers wave the banner of Creative Collaborations in the Community. Yet, beneath this promising theme lies a deeper question: does it truly honor and respect the essence of Ilonggo art, or has it become another hollow performance, a veneer of creativity masking a lack of necessary management? While the festival boasts over 2,000 participants and nine sprawling activities spanning architecture, cinema, culinary arts, dance, and visual arts, one component demands sharper scrutiny, the SM Art Market: ImaginART at SM City Iloilo that ran from October 12 to 26. Far from elevating the unique voice of
Ilonggo artistry, this so-called “art market” appears to dilute it into a commercial sideshow, reducing art to mere trinkets on sale racks. The dire need to expose disrespect, denounce abuses, condemn negligence, and ridicule incompetence of those who possess power birthed this art exhibit at Puluy-an Art Gallery.
The Art Pest 2024: Society of Creative Puppets in the String of Monsters is an art exhibit meant to express disappointment, dismay, displeasure, and disgust towards the Iloilo Arts Festival 2024, organized by the Iloilo City Government, Iloilo City Local Culture and Arts Council, M.I.C.E. Tourism Center, Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc., and SM City Iloilo. The month-long exhibit opened on November 23, 2024. This collaborative project was the product of Sangdiwa, a coalition of the following collectives: Black Sheep, The Exit Studio, Pintura Catmon, Hiugyon Creatives, and Puluy-an Artists Collective. Comprising nine pieces of paintings, the exhibit boasted varying art forms, which included acrylic, oil, fabric and thread on canvas, and even textile paint on polycotton. A significant portion of the works employs a monochromatic palette, particularly the grisaille technique, which focuses on the play of light and shadow to create the illusion of three-dimensionality on a flat surface.
The monochromatic sepia-like tones of Panghimagas by Black Sheep evoke a vintage, eerie atmosphere, their muted palette enhancing the surreal and unsettling quality of the scene, making it feel both timeless and otherworldly. Its smooth, blended texture lends a dreamlike fluidity to the composition, with gradations of shadow and light carefully guiding the eye across the canvas while revealing acrylic painterly details in the cloth, the skin, and the architectural forms. At the core of this work, the light emitting from a glowing brain-shaped source draws all attention. It casts lights across all the figures and objects
while elongated perspectives stretch and amplify forms, from the gargantuan body parts, scattered coins, to writhing worms in the foreground, dragging the onlooker down into this bizarre, nightmarish feel. In there are watchful eyes, each one perhaps a vision, a perspective, a dream, staring blankly from the heart of the scene, now consumed by apathy and avarice. Around this macabre table, trophies of defiance burn like candles while parasitic figures shamelessly gorge themselves, reducing the very lifeblood of creativity to fodder for gluttonous power structures. This dynamic, fueled by exploitation and greed, unmasks a sinister narrative: the artistic community, foundational and pillar-like as it is, is being derided and devoured, a tragic reflection of commercialization and the neglect of art by those who claim to support it.
The artwork Mukhang Nasa Pera by The Exit Studio, a
4×6 ft acrylic on canvas, centers on a haunting reinterpretation of a 20-peso bill. The gray-scale tones, reminiscent of printed currency, establish a somber atmosphere, disrupted by red accents that summon up a sense of nonconformity and critique. Its contrast between clean, formal lines of the gray-scale base and the unruly red markings as well as the rough, uneven textures with visible drips and chaotic brushstrokes create visual tension echoing themes of resistance, decay, and disorder, and transforms the canvas into a surface of protest. The focus on the “20” becomes significant with reference to the 20% commission imposed by the “Clowncil” during the Iloilo Arts Festival. In words of the artists, the caged chicken is a representation of them as victims of gambling. Since chickens are often symbolic of vulnerability or exploitation in many cultural contexts, the artists believe that its confinement in a cage manifests an idea of a front of protection, of care that is performative rather genuine, prioritizing profit over authenticity. Meanwhile, the festival’s opening date, Oct. 12, 2024, emblazoned on the bill, situates the critique firmly within the context of the Iloilo Arts Festival, serving as both a timestamp and a pointed reminder of the event being called out. This artwork is heavy-duty on critiquing the reduction of creative labor to mere transactions, transforming a familiar object, a currency note, into a protest against power structures and exploitation.
Hiugyon Artists’ artwork “Baboy na! Binaboy pa?” indeed carries the ceremonial feel of a funeral. It literally induced goosebumps and created an atmosphere of mourning and perhaps bitter irony. The installation, with the pig as its centerpiece, is surrounded by masks on the wall that were worn during the Vulgarade, along with the altar, coffin, origami of money, and even the red background, all carefully curated to deliver its message of aversion. Of course, the pig, occupying almost the entire frame, is the infamous association of greed and gluttony. The subdued tones of flesh-colored pink, brown, and black envelop its form, signifying a lifeless stillness that
underscores themes of stagnation and decay. Vertical streaks of dripping black paint, resembling bleeding ink, pull the viewer’s gaze downward across the figure, intensifying the sense of rot and contamination while suggesting the tainted nature of the system it represents. The ornate frame bordering the pig, rendered in earth tones, adds a decorative yet antiquated touch, sharply contrasting with the unsettling subject and hinting at systems that conceal corrosion beneath a polished exterior. The ceremonial aesthetic drives home the gravity of the loss and the warn of the artists’ rage. Surrounding this art piece, the blank white masks lining the red walls hint at anonymity and may symbolize the many “faces” of society that have been stripped of their uniqueness under systemic oppression, while also representing resistance or the reclaiming of identity.
All artworks for this exhibit created by various collectives affected by the failures of the Iloilo Arts Festival are striking, goosebump-inducing, and dense with symbolism. They are not objects of decoration or entertainment; they are reactions against the council and their manipulative schemes that surfaced before, during, and after the art festival, as portrayed by the nonverbal languages of colors, strokes, texture, images, and a collage of materials. All these serve as a direct slap in the face to the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Iloilo City, Iloilo City Local Culture and Arts Council, Iloilo City M.I.C.E. Center, Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. (IFFI), and SM City Iloilo. Their art becomes a perfecting asset, amplifying on the forlorn realities from which the artists’ community has long wished to disencumber itself but seems unable to escape due to relentless string manipulation, rooted in the systemic problem of patronage. Now, to understand an artist is to see more than the form, lines, colors, or styles, but to grasp what compelled them to express their feelings, realities, aspirations, and ideals in the way they know best. During the talkback session, they were asked, “What inspired your commitment to this kind of reactionary exhibit?”
They firmly responded that they are no longer afraid and strongly believe they have the right to voice their complaints. They feel they were dragged into this mess and have been mistreated. From the get-go, they emphasized their lack of trust in the local government unit, citing failures in past arts festivals and their evident disregard for local artists. They pointed out being paid the lowest daily rates, forced to paint rain or shine, and scolded for not meeting tight deadlines. Even before the art market opened, many artists professed their deep disappointment with the way the organizers handled the event. A glaring example was the lack of care in presenting the art pieces: low-quality panel boards were used to hang paintings, and these were hastily painted white while those were already on display. This careless act damaged, dirtied, and even painted over some of the artworks. Despite raising these issues and offering solutions to improve the situation, their concerns were ignored. Instead, the council’s attention remained fixated on sales and capital. The festival, the artists lament, has become more about profit than about celebrating the creators themselves.
The artists, now are no longer hesitant to create art with bold statements and reactions to whatever issue because they believe art is for everyone – for the community and the artists alike. They want to remain active in initiatives like Art Pest because they believe that when something is wrong, it must be addressed and rectified. As artists, they feel a responsibility to reflect on what’s right and wrong through their work. Therefore, this reactionary exhibit, Art Pest: Society of Creative Puppets on the String of Monsters, critique goes beyond the superficial concerns over the 2024 Iloilo Arts Festival. It actualizes failure to offer a strategic and genuine vision for the Ilonggo art community. The tale is clear. Artists, despite their creative labor, are often at the mercy of institutional forces that treat their work as a commodity to be bought and sold, with little regard for the true value of art or the artist’s well-being.
Despite this, the exhibit also carries a flicker of hope.
Rather than being a space for hostility or retaliation, this exhibit and its purpose have successfully become a form of a constructive response to an unjust system. The artistic expressions do not simply lash out at the injustices, but aim to “call out” the systemic issues through its arousing imagery and emotional appeal. This transformation of anger and frustration into purposeful commentary calls attention to the power of art to challenge the status quo, for their role in perpetuating a capitalist framework that undermines the true purpose of art, and demands change in a way that is beneficial for all. Therefore, the role of the artist extends beyond mere creation to that of a critic and prophet for humanity, tasked with condemning the shortcomings of today’s society and envisioning a better future. Artists must be in the service of the people, obligated to uncover the underlying issues and truths through their work. At its core, the exhibit advocates for a new world, one rooted in solidarity, genuine cultural delivery, and the belief that art is a transformative weapon – not a commodity to be bought and sold.
Gem Canlas is a student-activist and visual artist from Iloilo, committed to struggling for societal change through art and science. A member of Kabataan Partylist – Panay and Western Visayas Youth and Students Alliance. A future engineer for the people.
