BACOLOD CITY -- The regional tour of "Muhon: Traces of an Adolescent City”, the Philippine Pavilion exhibition at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, has kicked off here in an effort to nurture appreciation of art among Filipinos.
Organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, the exhibition will stay in Bacolod, the lone stop in the Visayas, until March 28 at the Saint Bro. Miguel Hall of the University of St. La Salle.
Architect Leandro Locsin Jr. of Leandro V. Locsin Partners, who is part of the curatorial team, said bringing the tour to Bacolod is fitting because of its “very strong heritage movement.”
“It’s here now in the Visayas, in Bacolod, which is sort of appropriate. Many people in Bacolod actually care. There is actually a very strong heritage movement here,” Locsin said in a press interview on Wednesday.
After “Muhon” was showcased in Venice, Italy, it was shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in 2017 and then was brought to Bacolod.
Locsin said the exhibit’s title “Muhon” was derived from the old Spanish word “mojon,” commonly known as the markers on corners or the edge of the property that define its limits.
“For us it has a deeper meaning. The exhibition really is about memory and identity and who we are, a sort of our heritage. And for us, the word ‘muhon’ actually captures all of that, what the ‘muhon’ stands for. We see it as precisely that, identity, rights, your place in the universe, ownership your culture and memory,” he added.
Aside from Locsin, the curatorial team is also composed of Sudarshan Khadka Jr. and Juan Paolo de la Cruz.
Featured are the works of architects Eduardo Calma, Jorge Yulo, LIMA Architecture, Mañosa & Company Inc., 8x8 Design Studio Co., and CS Design Consultancy Inc., with those of contemporary visual artists Poklong Anading, Tad Ermitaño and Mark Salvatus.
The nine participants selected and surveyed buildings, structures, landmarks, boroughs, and urban landscapes.
Evaluating their cultural merit and analyzing their potential within the national heritage, they created three sets of abstracted models built for each of the subjects corresponding to their original state, their current condition, and projected future.
These subjects were featured in three rooms during the exhibition.
Senator Loren Legarda, the visionary and principal advocate behind the Philippine participation in the Venice Biennale said in a statement that all the participations are meant to have many lives after its debut so that we reach as many people, especially Filipinos.
“It is important that we bring home the exhibition that was in Venice so that we nurture appreciation of art among Filipinos,” she added.
For his part, NCCA Chairman Virgilio Almario said their commitment is for all those interested in seeing the exhibition to get a chance to be part of it.
“If they cannot go because of distance, we bring it to them. It is important that people from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are able to see the ‘Muhon’ and participate not just by seeing the exhibition but also analyzing the realities it presents and reflecting on it in a critical way,” Almario added. (PNA)
