Joven Mansit , "Mein Kampf", oil on canvas

Joven Mansit ends the year with a tribute to Jose Rizal’s sesquicentennial.  The exhibit’s title, Dimasalang, which translates to untouchable, comes from one of two pseudonyms that Rizal adopted for his writings in the struggle against Spain.  Joven’s suite of medium-sized and small-scale paintings reexamines the cult of our National Hero, one whom we regard as the father of our nation.  “I wanted to challenge the common representations of Rizal”, he explained in the vernacular.  “We have so many urban legends about him…They reveal more about ourselves, how we assess our history, and how we look at our past.” Continue reading →