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| Benay Reyes, 'Geometric Fervor' |
"She is free in her wildness, she is a wanderess, a drop of free water.
She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs.
'Time' for her isn’t something to fight against.
Her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water.”
- Roman Payne
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| Christine Sioco's "Untamed" |
And so goes Ebarotika. An exhibit that gathers 19 members of Kababaihan sa Sining at Bagong Sibol na Kamalayan, or KASIBULAN, to create their visual expressions of their unleashed connection to their sensuality. Ebarotika, ‘You are Erotic, Eve’ thus projects sensual and feminine desires in visual form. Subtle depictions of feminine shapes, her genital sacredness, her encompassing nurturing spirit, seeking liberation.
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| Imelda Cajipe Endaya, "Loves Labor" |
But aesthetic liberties and intent can be miscontrued in erotic images demanding attention. This becomes more constrained when expressed by an all female artist group like Kasibulan like a feminist call to power. The acceptance of female sexual desires and energies are attuned to the natural energy and thus allows the women their connection to the earth and its whirling cone of power. The same power that attracted Eve and the babaylans to defy conventions and admonitions dictated by men.
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| Anna Fer, Untitled That eroticism can indeed arouse suspicion as mere prurient desires when the very essence of sensuality triggers the feminine power that nurtures, that heals and mends, that sought clarity, that glides in affectionate whispers instead of violent manipulations and the power of its charm to correct the imbalance around her. Quite a fitting focus in the present turbulent world of politics that the Kasibulan members find themselves in. Divided in political convictions yet seeking unity through their art, the works of Ebarotika traipse the shaky suspended rope of beliefs. Are we going to cross that rope blindly or in complete trust in our competence? Are we secure in our femininity to defy the shaming of women, wear plunging necklines and mini skirts freely, confront the rape jokes, the harassment of our tears and indignation as misplaced anger or weakening stance? Or will Ebarotika rise up to reveal the power of the feminine energy in its full sphere? The acknowledgement of our erotic energy as the compass to charge our path to purification, of restitution, and of subtle acceptance of our power to heal and nurture, rather than the power to rule. |
Visual imageries are very powerful. For in it lies the capacity to allow our creative spirit to express that which is meaningful and relevant in us when words fail us.
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| Yasmin Almonte, 'Her Rose' |
“As for you girls, you must risk everything for Freedom, and give everything for Passion, loving everything that your hearts and your bodies love. The only thing higher for a girl and more sacred for a young woman than her freedom and her passion should be her desire to make her life into poetry, surrendering everything she has to create a life as beautiful as the dreams that dance in her imagination.” - Roman Payne
Curated by Lia Torralba, Ebarotika! features 19 Kasibulan artists: Yasmin Almonte, Lot Arboleda, Chie Cruz, Cecil de Leon Escobar, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Anna Fer, Lorna Fernandez, Kristin Garanchon, Lorna Israel, Amihan Jumalon, Nina Libatique, Eden Ocampo, Jonabelle Operio, Fel Plata, Rebie Ramoso, Benay Reyes, Doris Rodriguez, Christine Sioco, and Lia Torralba.
Come, and celebrate our erotic life! Join us at the opening reception on October 15, 4 pm.
Ebarotika! will run through November 23, 2016. Sining Kamalig Art Gallery is located at Upper Ground Floor, Ali Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City. Gallery hours are from Monday-Sunday, 10:00 AM-9:00 PM. For additional information, contact Sining Kamalig art@worldexperience.ph, (02) 912-3771 or
Kasibulan wekasibulan@gmail.com, 09177527095, 09330634698.
