The Cultural Center of the Philippines presents the exhibit Lumayo Ka Man Sa Akin: HIV, My Love by artist Isola, a recipient of its venue grant, which runs from 27 October until 11 December at the CCP Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco (Little Theater Lobby).
Lumayo Ka Man Sa Akin: HIV, My Love draws its energy from socially engaged practices such as the works of Pablo Helguera that use methods of public engagement and pedagogy, and Suzanne Lacy's Skin of Memory (1999 to 2017), notable for its engagement with community history, activism and mobility. In a similar vein, this project expands the discourse on pandemics and its intersections with gender identity and class through a practice of engaged listening to voices of the unheard and the unseen, silenced by social structure.
On 15 October, the artist facilitated an online visual poetry and body mapping workshop, attended by HIV-positive participants who encountered the open call. The idea followed body mapping exercises done by artists and therapists to help participants heal from their trauma through mapping or locating the pain or wounds on a figurative drawing which represents their body.
"While the world is struggling with Covid-19, the Philippines is fighting the surge of another virus, albeit a much older one," Isola said in her essay as her exhibit is a meditation on loss, condemnation, exclusion, rejection and the life-long grief suffered by many others like the artist who were infected by the human immunodeficiency virus or HIV. The exhibition shows how each day of their lives are made possible by antiretrovirals and how they struggle to find joy in such a harsh social environment.
The exhibit is not only a reflection of the callousness of fate and the universe and how people judge them harshly, but rather, a celebration of life, an intimate and lifetime love affair with HIV, "my love." Isola, who is currently based in California for her MFA in Environmental Art and Social Practice, delivered an online artist's talk on 1 December for World AIDS Day.
Exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Viewing hours are extended until 9 p.m. on evenings with shows at the CCP Main Theater. For inquiries, contact the CCP Visual Art and Museum Division, Production and Exhibition Department, at telephone number 8832-1125 local 1504 or 1505, email vamd@culturalcenter.gov.ph or through social media pages www.facebook.com/ccpvamd, www.instagram.com/ccpvamd, and www.twitter.com/ccpvamd.