March 1, 2021
The 110 newly hatched sea turtles are made with acrylic on bisque ware. These are the continuation of the artist’s series of sculptures featuring endangered marine animals to remind us, human beings, that we are not the only children of Mother Nature and whatever we do will not only affect the next generation of human beings, but it will also have an impact on other living things. The first series featured blue whales in an installation art made for Tuklas 2021 entitled “Out of the Blue”.
As also shown in National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ Bagong Biswal 2021, this artwork gives life to the artist’s memories of the people whom she has helped to open their eyes to the world of art, and to the world that she perceives. An average of 110 green sea turtles are produced by one bold adult female green sea turtle; before they are hatched, the fearless mother must surpass the wobbling waves of the ocean to reach breeding sites on land. And sadly, these hatchlings have a low chance of survival. In parallel with that fact, the artist sees herself as the mother of those green sea turtles who survived the waves. The vehement waves are the self-proclaimed righteous people or the know-it-alls who tried to control her life and who tried to smash her with their belittlements – saying that she would not have a bright future if she pursues her art and that she would have a better life if she chose a different profession in the field of science. Unswayed by unsolicited advice, the artist stood firm with the plans she created for herself – her dream to become an artist and to let art be her best soldier in fighting for her advocacies. If she had been swayed by these waves, she wouldn’t have given birth to these sea turtles. But for the artist, given that these sea turtles have a low chance of survival, it will still be up to these sea turtles if they would strive to live out the inspiration that she somehow gave them – the inspiration to continue writing their dreams and not to simply follow what they’ve been told to do.
Written by Lin Bajala
Outside Odangputik Pottery, Lin is a poet, a singer-songwriter, a researcher, content writer, social media strategist, an entrepreneur, a cat mom, and an advocate for equality. She is an INFJ-A without a doubt. And if you ask her if she can choose between English or Filipino, she'll choose the Filipino language without hesitation! But something that perfectly describes her is that she is a woman who will most likely adopt every street cat she sees.