Valencia, Lady Beatriz 11-25-19

XII- Optimism Contemporary Arts

I have read a few articles about the author

of the whole exhibit and how she introduced her
alternate history with the help of the artistic hands
of Guy Custodio, Atty. Saul Hofilena, has
received comments and queries from shocked and
incredulous viewers. He has been accused of
excessive anti-friar bias, like Marcelo Del Pilar
and the Propagandists.
A look back on what has shaped the faith
and religion we have now. Hocus, an exhibit on
the outskirts of Christianity in ancient history of
the Philippines, has been a tremendous experience
yet to be discovered by young minds for them to
flourish and be aware of the foundations of the
alternate history that had led to what we call today
as Catholicism.
Taking its name from the grid system of town planning by which the Spanish
colonialists imposed their rule and their will on the natives, the current exhibit renews
Hocus’ attack on the colonial mind-set that somehow still extends tendrils from the past
to influence how modern-day Filipinos think and feel.
“Quadricula” marks the return of Hocus, the singular two-headed creature who
took the local art world by storm in April of 2017 with an eponymous six-month exhibit
at the National Museum of Fine Arts. In a series of 26 remarkable paintings—six of
which are now on permanent display at the museum—Hocus depicted allegorical scenes
from an alternate history in which nothing is hidden, everything is revealed.
Pondering upon the inverted friars after
glancing on this painting caught my attention
and made me stay in front of this painting for
five minutes just to get a clear understanding
of what was happening inside the corners of
this canvas. In the picture we are seeing, the
natives being burned to death, surrounded
with such beautiful landscapes. Upside down
we can see the inverted church and friars
scattered on the church’s patio having an
eerie surrounding and is being enveloped in
darkness.
My understanding on this oil on wood is that
before coming to the Philippines the natives
have thrived to live in peace and fostered the
the life found in the forest as they have
worshiped the creation so it is as valuable
and imperative for them. Then came the
colonization of the Spanish people, they
have conquered and took over of what has
been bare for the island for centuries and
introduced “faith” in all its complexity.
The inverted friars send be the eerie feeling. An atmosphere filled with lies, deceit and anger.
They are surrounded by darkness which is truly ironic since they promulgate the life of Christ,
they preach the words written on the bible and they bring the hope and the coming for the
resurrection but reviewing what has happened in the Philippines’ magnificent history friars have
long misused their power and authority and used it mostly on their personal extravaganzas.
Seeing how beautiful the landscapes are to where the natives or natives are being burned
alive depicts how peaceful and how dynamic and vulnerable they were before the Spanish came
and lured their interests. Natives have been treating the islands as temples and have been
flourishing for tantamount of time. In this painting, Holifena shows how life in these bountiful
and beautiful islands became hell on earth for the natives. The reversed image of the Agustanian
friars also depicts how they tend to find such beautiful landscape but failed and ended up finding
the island of the Philippines rich with a veritable orchard of pagan souls.