Yolanda survivor-artists exhibit ‘hope artworks’ MANILA, Oct. 15, 2014 — Fourteen artists who survived super typhoon Yolanda are staging a series of art exhibits depicting their personal and their fellow survivors’ resilience and hope, almost a year after the tragedy. The artists, all of whom were in Tacloban when typhoon Yolanda claimed thousands of lives in Eastern Visayas last year, initially ran the Paglaum Paper Clay Art Exhibit of 26 artworks at the Resorts World Manila from Oct. 1 to 5. Friendly Race by Crispin Asensi depicts two fellows in straw hats each on a carabao’s back. (Photo: Oliver Samson) “Each one has a story to tell,” Tindog Tacloban Movement founder and executive director Jhoey Hernandez said of typhoon Yolanda survivors. “Paglaum means hope in Visayas.” Conceptualized only last August, the exhibit can be viewed at the Manila Fame Expo at the SMX Mall of Asia on Oct. 16-19 and at the Manila Art Expo, SMX Aura on Oct. 18-19. The artworks include the Friendly Race, a depiction of two fellows in straw hats each on a carabao’s back, by Crispin Asensi; Usbong 4, shows a tree managing to re-grow leaves after a storm, by Dante Enage, and Parol, a colorful work anticipating Christmas a year after, by Ge-Ann Balintec. Typhoon Yolanda survivor Dante Enage paints Usbong 4, which shows a tree managing to re-grow leaves after a storm. (Photo: Oliver Samson) The series of exhibit “is a transformational project,” Hernandez said. The hopelessness fades as they fill their medium with vibrant colors of a bouncing life and, ultimately, as they set up the artworks, she explained. According to Hernandez, the artists have decided to share what appears to be the therapeutic nature of art to other typhoon Yolanda survivors by volunteering in a mentoring program. “We will be holding workshops not just in schools in Tacloban but also in temporary shelters,” Hernandez said. Tindog Tacloban Movement says there is hope, she said. “It’s almost a year now, and it’s time to move on.” cbcpnews
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000