Shhh...Something's Up at UP

FC Galeria 2 October 2-6

“Shhh…An Exhibit of ____Left Unspoken” will be held October 2-6 at the Faculty Galeria 2, University of the Philippines (UP). Viewing hours are from 8am to 6pm. The public is also invited to the opening reception on October 2, 5 pm.

“Shhh…” is a project of the Art Around Us (Art Studies 2) students under the supervision of Prof. Flaudette May Datuin, in collaboration with De La Salle University students, who took up a Literature Elective course (LITELEC) with Prof. Datuin last term, Japanese artist Midori Hirota, Irish artist Angie Halliday and Filipina artist Alma Quinto.

The exhibit includes installations, collage and videos dealing with the themes of disaster, oppression and felt experience.

The installations and collage revolving around the themes of personal, political and media disasters emerged from the workshops between AS 2 students and Midori Hirota, who was here last August in connection with the project “Pasar-Ichiba-Talipapa,” a collaboration between the UP Department of Art Studies and the Japan Foundation Manila Office. Composed of Hirota’s solo exhibit at Green Papaya Art Projects, her artist talk at the UP Diliman Gender Office and workshops, the project is part of the activities connected with the Philippines-Japan Friendship Year.

The videos on felt experience, on the other hand, are a collaboration between UP and DLSU students and Angie Halliday, who was here in connection with workshops and artist talks of trauma, interrupted (www.trauma-interrupted.org), a multi-pronged project that will culminate in an international exhibition and conference in June 2007. Ms. Halliday also held workshops with CRIBS Philippines, an NGO that cares for girl survivors of sexual abuse, with which Alma Quinto has been holding creative autobiography workshops for the last ten years.

“Shhh…” will also ask viewers to respond to the question “Malaya Ka Ba?” (Are you Free?) and sew/write their responses on the grids of cloth provided by Alma Quinto. Launched at Liongoren Gallery last June 12 to celebrate the 2006 Philippine Independence Day, the Malaya Ka Ba? quilt is expected to unfurl June 12, 2007, as part of the activities of trauma, interrupted. The Malaya Ka Ba? quilt is a collaboration between Alma Quinto, Norma Liongoren and Flaudette May V. Datuin.

For details, please call/text Prof. Datuin at 0920 647 7956, email: maydatuin@gmail.com.