“Sarili Bago Bayan”
Acrylic and Gouache
2021
Sarili Bago Bayan is a surrealistic piece that portrays what Duterte fails to perceive as an exaggerated result of red-tagging. It is a futuristic wasteland of the University of the Philippines, with an editorial-like caricature of President Duterte dressed as a clown to mirror his irony. The irony emulates the abuse of power when the people choose to speak against the government, which in itself — is a right. Opinions should not stifle the livelihood of an entire community, it should not stifle the movement of people. The piece’s title is an obvious and direct opposition to its actual quote. Art is political, but asking for the betterment of your countrymen is not
Danielle Nica S. Solisa (Nic Solisa) is a freshman majoring in visual communication under the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. The artist sees herself as “fine-tuned and subjective”, seeking out surrealistic forms and composition from each piece she makes. The work of Nic Solisa is an exploration of detail and technique. Being self-taught, she sees art personally and filled with passion. Working with acrylics, she finds the medium to translate imagery to the best of her vision. Her creative process stems from the conceptualization of each piece, followed by understanding the colors that go with it. Nic Solisa seeks inspiration from everything around her. She dissects her work through symbolization and aims to communicate messages through the components of her paintings..