"Nawala ang Sarili sa Loob ng Kwadrado" - photo taken in August 2021, Philippines

Years before March 11, 2020, I had only been counting sheep to get a good sleep at night. Nowadays, it’s different. It is the growing number of COVID-19 cases that I have been counting through day and night. I know that I am not the only one who has been anxious because of this pandemic. Many people are also affected by this crisis especially because of the slow actions taken to mitigate the problem in our country. Every day feels like a coaster ride for all of us – for an hour you’re excited, then in one snap, your spirit suddenly crashes down. Ianna Engaño’s new ceramic series, “Ang Mamamayan”, says all of these. It depicts the variety of emotions that we, the Filipino people, are experiencing in the middle of a pandemic.

"Lumalabo at Naglalaho" 
English Title: "Bleak Future Fades in the Dark"

The future seems bleak. We don’t have a clear picture of what would happen next. “Vaccines may work today but what if the time when it can no longer protect us finally happens?”, we hear this from the traumatized and the wary. Then, fear starts to set in as people start to realize how unpredictable times have been compared to what it was before. Whatever negative emotions that these people have right now is valid and they don’t have to apologize for the way they feel. We all deserve to acknowledge that our load is as significant as anyone else and it is not lighter than another friend’s plight. Nevertheless, we, at Odangputik, still hope that human beings won’t let fear and skepticism eat them up completely. Yes, the future is bleak but hasn’t it always been like that? Since the birth of Neanderthals, nobody can accurately predict what life on Earth looks like a decade from now.

"Tagu-taguan, takutan"English Title: "Hide and Seek with Invitation to Fear"

Our health workers have been doing their best to provide us effective vaccines and intensive care. During this crisis, we only see half of their sacrifices. They’ve spent years in studying and preparing for humanity to be saved.

"Pagod man ako ngayon, bukas, ako'y muling babangon" - photo taken in August 2021

We are all tired. But keep in mind that this ceramic series will remind us of the battles that we survived. Someday, we’d still be holding into this ceramic piece while saying, “I’ve made it”.

These ceramic artworks were built by the hands of a ceramic artist and the owner of Odangputik, Ianna Engaño.
This article was written by Lin Bajala, the same person responsible for the creative shots used in this blog.

Odangputik Pottery Studio