By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
As art becomes more and more commercialized, it is rare to find an artist who believes in using art as a tool for social change. The dark paintings of Filipino artist Leslie de Chavez are a scathing social commentary on society, politics, culture and religion in the Philippines.
Thirteen of de Chavez' striking works are shown in his solo exhibition ``Red-Eyed Brother'' at the Arario Seoul in Jongno, which runs through Aug. 26.
In an interview with The Korea Times, de Chavez said the title of the exhibition refers to the fact that his eyes are always red, and his intense passion for his art.
``My eyes are always red, literally, especially at night. Maybe it's due to stress or I need some eye check-up. My Korean friends noticed it when I lived here last year on an artist's grant. … Then the curator made the connection of my being red-eyed with my passion and intense engagement with art,'' he said.
Arario Gallery curator Juhl J. Lee noted the energy of de Chavez' works, which is shown in the dark, intense colors. ``When Leslie approaches his paintings, he first paints his entire white canvas in black and starts by sketching in white as if searching for the light in the dark,'' Lee said, in the exhibition catalogue.
``In his paintings, he resists, as a citizen of the third world, the neo-imperialistic forces of global capitalism as well as the corrupt government that continually drives his people and nation toward further decline. He is also resistant toward the ideology of consumerism, which has completely shifted human values, and resists any art that stands purely for the sake of art.''
The paintings by the 29-year old artist reflect contemporary life in and history of the Philippines, as well as some of his personal experiences. His paintings are often critical to the point of cynicism.
In ``National Drifters,'' a stern-looking Mother Mary holds a bald eagle, in the same way as she would have held a baby Jesus in classic religious paintings. De Chavez explained Mary and the eagle symbolize Spain and the United States, who colonized the Philippines. Spain colonized the Philippines for more than 300 years, only to cede the country to the U.S. who stayed on until 1946. Japan briefly occupied the Philippines for three years during World War II.
``It is a symbolic representation of our two colonizers (Spain and U.S.). The effects of the two colonizers are still present in our contemporary life,'' he said. His resistance to cultural imperialism, especially from the U.S., is one of the common themes running through his works.
References to Catholicism can also be found in his works. De Chavez' video installation ``Ignorance is Bliss'' captures the carnival-like atmosphere during Lent, one of the most important religious holidays in the Philippines. It features videos of people swarming around religious icons such as Christ carrying the cross and a mural of the Last Supper, during the Lenten activities in his hometown of Lucban, Quezon Province this year.
``I'm interested in the irony of Philippine faith or devotion. How devoted we are to the Christian religion and yet we get to create social and political evils in the Philippines. There is hypocrisy in ordinary people up to our leaders,'' he said.
This is de Chavez' third solo exhibition in Seoul, but his first with Arario Gallery.
De Chavez graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Philippines in 1999. In 2005, the National Museum of Contemporary Art invited him for a one-year art fellowship in Korea.
His works were shown in ``Bikini in Winter,'' a group exhibition with other Asian artists in Alternative Space Loop in Seoul last year. Also last year, he held solo exhibitions ``Ichimaseyo'' (Do Not Forget Me), at the Goyang Art Studio Gallery and ``Tropical Delight,'' at the Windows Gallery, Gallery Hyundai.