It ties the parallels of historical oppression in the Philippines within a global discourse.
Songspiels and Tragicomedies is an exhibition featuring the collective Chto Delat (Russia) and Alfredo Esquillo (Philippines). Curated by BAP’s Artistic Director Inti Guerrero, this exhibition of absurd tragicomedies associates two formally distinctive practices that nevertheless each engage with the idiom of Social Realism, a prominent language in the art histories of both Eastern Europe and the Philippines. The exhibition reveals many paradoxes of class struggle in the current phase of capitalism entangled with corporate nationalism and institutionalized religion. The latter plays a major character in the exhibited works, from the revival of religious conservatism in post-socialist contexts tackled by Chto Delat to the fanatic Catholicism controlling the masses in Esquillo’s compositions.
Free and open to the public. Props comprising the work of Chto Delat were fabricated at the artisan workshops of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bataan. The opening reception is sponsored by Engkanto Brewery.
BAP Outpost
October 19, 2019 – January 24, 2020
Featuring: Chto Delat, Alfredo Esquillo
