Rodel Tapaya List of Works and Selected Descriptions MC_CS6_RZ_150116_DIS_RT_Insert_215x265_NEU.indd 1 16.01.15 15:36 Rodel Tapaya in his studio in Bulacan, Philippines, 2014; photo: Marina Cruz MC_CS6_RZ_150116_DIS_RT_Insert_215x265_NEU.indd 2 16.01.15 15:36 MC_CS6_RZ_150116_DIS_RT_Insert_215x265_NEU.indd 3 16.01.15 15:36 encounter each other, on separate rock → Cover → p. 14 Refreshing Fluid (crop), 2014 formations, and the river is presented Door to Door, 2014 Acrylic on canvas as far more than a placid body, with Acrylic on paper 213 × 152 cm its spirit hidden beneath its surface. 77 × 57 cm Private Collection, Philippines Private Collection, Berlin In this magically bewildering environ- Refreshing Fluid takes on the peren- ment, the all too mortal hunter has to This work depicts a scene of a fish nial issue of drought. It draws from cling to an object, its charm fueled by vendor. On a personal note, my family’s the Bagobo tale of a couple called his belief. ZMDR business is producing smoked fish, Toglai and Toglibon; after their death which vendors buy and sell around the a great drought came upon their land, → p. 5 village. RT lasting three years and forcing their The Magic Show of the Haciendero Magician, 2007 Acrylic on burlap children to move to various locations 122 × 91 cm → p. 15 and eventually become the pioneers of Private Collection The Disguise, 2014 present-day groups in Mindanao. One Acrylic on paper 77 × 57 cm of the children, on the verge of death, → p. 6 Private Collection, Philippines discovered water in sugarcane, and set- Kinakawowowee II, 2007 tled in a region that was plentiful of it; Acrylic on burlap The Disguise presents hunters who 152 × 183 cm his descendants were the Bagobo (the Private Collection camouflage themselves as animals in first ethnic group in Mindanao). In this order to pass unnoticed, ensuring a work we see the anatomy and effects successful hunt. It has often been said → p. 12 of drought, with water taken to propel Meeting with Self, 2014 that much can be learned from nature, electric powerplants supplying the big Acrylic on paper and being in it affords us insight and 77 × 57 cm well-being that is becoming harder to cities, while none is left for the lumad Private Collection or indigenous peoples. The image of come by in our increasingly urbanized the sugarcane embodies suffering, as it lives. In this respect, the painting can calls to mind the haciendas and azucar- → p. 13 be interpreted as exposing the human Crossing Over, 2014 eras or sugar factories, where farmers Acrylic on paper race’s failure to grasp the idea of being toil for very little pay. This collision 77 × 57 cm in harmony with nature, rather opting 4 Private Collection of past and present crises results in a to work against it and exploiting it. ZMDR powerfully visual and well-considered In many of Tapaya’s works, familiar social commentary that does not resort images or tropes are given new dimen- → p. 16 to literal sensationalism. ZMDR Dinner with Forest God, 2014 sions and depth of meaning. Crossing Acrylic on paper Over is one example—a person rides 77 × 57 cm Private Collection → p. 2 on the back of another, signifying a Protection in the Forest, 2013 rescue. Thick gray cords framing the Acrylic on canvas, framed with engraved tin sheet image of the rescuer and the rescued → p. 17 166 × 137 cm Lift, 2014 Private Collection, Berlin further reinforce this interpretation; Acrylic on paper the dark areas in the foreground of the 77 × 57 cm The shape of Protection in the Forest painting can be seen as a representa- Private Collection, Berlin resembles the shape of an agimat (tal- tion of a river that has to be crossed isman) used by people for protection. (which in turn is a metaphor for any → p. 18 Some would even claim that their crisis or adversary that has to be over- The Two Wolves Inside, 2014 agimat makes them immune to pos- come). On the other hand, the scene Acrylic on paper 77 × 57 cm sible injuries from bullets and knives, can also be considered a new take on Private Collection, Philippines thus rendering them invincible and the narrative of death, as was perhaps perhaps even immortal. In the paint- first expressed in the Philippine ma- I remember quite early on reading this ing, an apprehensive-looking hunter is nunggul jar which depicts a boatman story about a grandson and a grand- making his way through the forest, rifle accompanying a dead person across father talking. The grandfather said, in hand. He is surrounded by forces a river to the afterlife, so that even in “My son, there is a battle between two both bestial and otherworldly. An eagle death a person is not completely alone. wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is (perhaps the prey he is hunting) is in And Tapaya gives this a warmer aspect anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, turn protected by the forest, which by expressing this rescue or com- inferiority, lies, and ego. The other is camouflages the bird: its body melds panionship through the uncertain in good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humil- with root, smoke, water, and earth terms of physical contact, the figures ity, kindness, empathy and truth.” The symbolized by arch and pillar. The themselves being melded into each child asked, “Which wolf wins?” The same goes for the formidable lion and other while making the journey across old man quietly replied, “The one you leopard. At the bottom, man and beast a river, towards death. ZMDR feed.” RT MC_CS6_RZ_150116_DIS_RT_Insert_215x265_NEU.indd 4 16.01.15 15:36 the forest hear a shout when there is no This triptych refers to a Bukidnon → p. 19 The Lector, 2014 one in their company who could have creation myth in which the inter- Acrylic on paper made such a sound, they postpone their dependence of three celestial beings 77 × 57 cm hunt and leave the animals alone, fear- gives rise to the known universe. In the Private Collection, Philippines ing they will be punished by the fairy middle panel, the Mediator, a winged The Lector prompts one to muse on the and Dangkaw. ZMDR creature, holds the ring in which are possibility and power of words. The contained the Supreme Planner and work depicts a lector reading passages → p. 24 the Ten Headed Creature; it also serves from a book; the faint figure behind Outpouring, 2014 as an arbiter between the two. The Acrylic on canvas Supreme Planner sets out to create the him seated in a chair, from which var- 183 × 122 cm ious lines emanate, can be seen as an Private Collection, Hong Kong world with the help of the Ten Headed extension of the lector imagining the Creature, who possesses the means Because of the massive damage caused prophetic power of his words upon his to carry out the Supreme Planner’s by Typhoon Haiyan, many of those in listeners. His uncomfortable stance on vision. In the right and left panels, the Visayan region, in the center of the the stage expresses the presence of fear the celestial beings are repeated, ac- Philippines, were left homeless and and insecurity in the face of the pros- centuating the importance of their starving. With help from both fellow pect of great power, his alter ego in the presences by and with each other, and countrymen and others around the background appearing tense (with both suggesting that without their mutual globe, they were able to rebuild their arms across the chest) and seemingly help, nothing can be fully realized. On lives. Outpouring reflects on this lend- frustrated that the lector is not rising to a more practical note, cooperation, ing of a helping hand by echoing a myth the occasion. This is an expression of an interdependence, and collaboration of the northern Bontoc tribe about a existential crisis which unfortunately are crucial, from the home to the com- great flood caused by many days of prevails among many people from the munity to the workplace, and every ceaseless rain. Two groups of people, artist’s country, in which potential re- person is important for the success of or two tribes, were able to survive the mains only that and is never realized, another. ZMDR disaster. But because it took some time and possibly meaningful roles disap- for the flood to subside, one tribe al- pear, unfulfilled.ZMDR most perished from the cold on the top → pp. 28/29 Fragrance and Harmony, 2014 5 of a mountain. The second tribe, lo- Acrylic on canvas → p. 20 cated on another mountaintop, helped 244 × 335 cm Goddess of the Forest, 2014 Private Collection, Switzerland Acrylic on paper them: they sent a dog that swam across 77 × 57 cm the floodwater and brought fire to the This work is about war. I particularly Hotel Luna Museum Collection, Vigan City, Philippines first tribe, thus enabling them to survive like the lyrics of a Filipino folksong the cold. RT that says, “if your enemy doesn’t have → p. 21 The Idiot Box, 2014 heart, you should use your heart in- Acrylic on paper → p. 25 stead; you need to treat him like a The Heirloom, 2014 77 × 57 cm friend and think that he also has a Private Collection Acrylic on canvas 213 × 152 cm heart like you.” The white flowers rep- Private Collection resent the hope for peace. This work → p. 23 Forest Spirit, 2014 The inspiration comes from an Ibanag doesn’t pertain to any particular folk- Acrylic on canvas folktale about a magic medallion tale or story, but is my interpretation 152 × 122 cm of the Historic Peace Agreement of the Collection Linda O.