Jayson Cortez's Triumph a Year End Homage
Jayson Cortez's Triumph a Year End Homage
Jayson Cortez pays homage to the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal in his
solo exhibition "Triumph: A Year-End Homage"
Apart from being an author, doctor, and
reformist, Jose Rizal is also a visual artist. Throughout history, Rizal has
often been regarded as a writer, best known for his moving novels Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo. On another front, he was also immersed
in fine arts working with different mediums. A fact that has been just as
widely documented by numerous historians with some of his artworks preserved in
National Museums.
In observance of one of the last holidays
of the year in the Philippines, Jayson Cortez's "Triumph a Year-End
Homage", makes for a timely exhibition that honors the national hero as an
artist. The show's title, "Triumph" can be read through the various
instances where the concept is explored in Cortez's artworks. This probe is not
limited to Rizal's allegorical triumphs but also takes a biographical approach
to Rizal's life through Cortez's own interpretations of Rizal's portraits of
family members which he himself had painted.
The exhibition's pièce de résistance can be
found in three pieces, particularly "Triumph of Science Over Death",
"Triumph of Death Over Life", and "Mother's Revenge." All
of which share the same titles as their original sculptures.
Scientia also known as "Triumph of
Science Over Death" is based on Rizal's sculpture that depicts a nude
feminine figure that is holding a torch as she stands on top of a skull. The
work alludes to the knowledge that has allowed mankind to prolong life thanks
to the science of medicine. Cortez's interpretation of the work comes almost
like second nature to him as the subject easily resonates with the feminine
imagery that he so often works within his practice.
The second sculpture referenced by Cortez
in this exhibition is "Triumph of Death Over Life." Cortez does not
stray far from the sculpture's original execution and includes a cloaked
skeleton, a symbol of death, embracing a feminine figure whose face is covered
in flowers that symbolizes enlightenment. In this piece, Cortez also unearths
Rizal's motivations for the sculpture in adding vignettes of Spanish friars
that shaped our views on politics and religion which eventually clouded the
nation's view of its own liberty.
And last but not least is "Mother's
Revenge." Here, Cortez takes off from the original imagery, reimagining a
less tragic conclusion to the work. Cortez illustrates two dogs attacking a
crocodile vis-à-vis the original where the crocodile is seen devouring the
dog's offspring while its mother attacks to protect its pup. The work has often
been interpreted as the mother dog on the crocodile's back being the motherland
(Philippines), whose child represents the oppressed citizens, under the cruel
rule of its Spanish colonizers, which is embodied by the crocodile. In this
refreshed image of "Mother's Revenge," the meaning of Rizal's work is
not changed but rather Cortez picks up the threads of Rizal's narrative and
gives it an epilogue of sorts.
Viewers are taken back to revisit these
works of our National Hero, in spite of the present climate, be it on the
political or scientific front, "Triumph" reminds us of how far we've
come as a nation. On the occasion of Jose Rizal’s 159th birthday, Cortez
rekindles us with the artistic temperament of Rizal as a stalwart of the arts.
Text by Marz Aglipay
Jayson Cortez's "Triumph A Year End Homage" ran from November 8 to 29, 2020 at the Pinto Museum.
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