In Baguio, two artists celebrated Jose Rizal through exhibits that explore postcolonial perspectives. Kidlat Tahimik dressed Rizal in a bahag to challenge colonial imagery, while Dengcoy Miel portrayed him as a concept of resistance and suffering.
In Baguio, Philippines, two exhibits engaged with Jose Rizal's legacy this year. The first came from National Artist for Film Kidlat Tahimik, who displayed his Rizal assemblages at the Baguio Museum in June, on Rizal's birthday. Dressed in a G-string, Kidlat shouted to the audience, "Happy Orbit, Pepe!" while showcasing woodcarvings of Rizal wearing a bahag. This formed part of his larger 2021 project, "Magellan, Marilyn, Mickey & Fr. Dámaso. 500 Years of Conquistador RockStars," staged at Palacio de Cristal and filled with bululs, Spanish conquistadors, and American pop icons like Mickey Mouse to create a postcolonial human zoo.
The second exhibit, Dengcoy Miel's "Kathang Ipis," opened at the Bencab Museum in August upon his return home after retiring from The Straits Times in Singapore. Like Kidlat, Miel treats Rizal as a conceptual hinge for questions of power, faith, and postcolonial identity, rather than a mere historical figure. In paintings such as "Allergic to Violence" and "The Pacifist’s Nightmare," he depicted Rizal as a pacifist contrasting Bonifacio's violence. His masterpiece, "Walang Katapusang Cuento ng Pighati at Pagdurusa (Revolt-In)," shows the two heroes arm-in-arm, one holding a smoldering bolo and the other a flaming quill, symbolizing the tension between reason and action in Philippine history.
For Miel, "Kathang Ipis" plays on "isip," reflecting the viewpoint of the underling haunted by the past's dark shadows. "Why Kathang Ipis? Probably because our points of view are that of the underling... It’s these puns intended that reveals our playful and merry acceptance and shielded defiance to the challenges of the past, present and the future," he said at the opening. "The paintings in this show hope to crystallize our collective traumas, make peace with them and hopefully learn from them, too."
Both artists reject piety, framing Rizal as a living inspiration for contemporary Filipinos rather than an untouchable icon.
