In its quest to contribute to global artistic discourse, the Philippines unveiled its entry to the Venice Architecture Biennale 2018, “The City Who Had Two Navels.” The multi-channel digital installation and exhibit, curated by Edson Cabalfin, explores a key aspect of the modern Filipino cultural climate: the tense relationship between the country’s historical experience of colonialism and its urban, neoliberal landscape, with a special focus on how the dialogue between these two cultural forces has influenced Philippine architecture and city development.
Sen. Loren Legarda, who led the Philippines’ re-entry to the Biennale after a five-decade absence, oversaw the preview of the exhibit. With her were Edson Cabalfin, National Commission for Culture and the Arts chair Virgilio Almario, Philippine Ambassador to Italy Domingo Nolasco, Philippines Arts in Venice Biennale director Riya Lopez and businessman Fernando Zobel de Ayala.
“The presence of the Philippines in the Arsenale is really a testament to the Philippines being at the center of art and culture in the world,” Legarda says. “As we view the realization of Dr. Cabalfin’s curatorial concept in this beautiful space, the Artiglierie of the Arsenale, let us allow ourselves to question what we see. Let us converse with our fellow spectators, with the exhibition itself, and with ourselves.”
Inspired by the Nick Joaquin novel The Woman Who Had Two Navels, the exhibit asks two difficult questions: Can the Philippines truly escape colonialism, or could neoliberalism be a new form of colonialism? “Just because I posed these questions, I don’t necessarily answer them. My goal is to provoke a discussion,” Edson explains.
The Philippine exhibit will be on display at the historic Arsenale in Venice until November 25, 2018.
For more information about the Philippine pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale 2018, visit http://philartvenicebiennale.com.
