Out of The Blue
Arrow, Bandit, Coral, Crystal, Olympia, Willy, and Tornado are the whales that long for a higher chance of survival and saving their kind from the perilous and avaricious acts of human beings against them. Bounded to their names are their sufferings and outcries – enraged, in fear, disturbed, desperately fighting for life, old and tired, a warrior, and becoming courageous – if only they could speak.
The sculptures of these whales portray the artist’s respect for the Earth’s ocean and other bodies of water. In Filipino culture, sculptures are built for the highly respected ones. And respect, in a philosophical perspective, is a mode of attention to and an acknowledgment of an object as having certain importance.
Because of the lingering childhood memories from Manila Bay – the place where Ianna, the artist, grew up until she was seven years old – and how it captured an enormous part of the artist’s heart, she chose to show her deep apprehension for water on Earth especially for the sea and the ocean. She always ponders over the fact that without water on Earth, there would be no life; and if life on water dies, the body of water dies with it. And so, for her, the critically endangered blue whales are not some things to be taken for granted – she values their lives as much as she values human lives. But out of all the other endangered marine animals that the artist could create, why did she choose to build these sculptures of blue whales first? The answer lies within her soul; blue whales are the epitomes of her personality. Blue whales are more solitary compared to other whale species and that makes the artist’s quality of exuding joy from being alone can be likened to them. A parallel, in addition, can be drawn between their solitude and the artist’s independence.
This installation art is part of Tuklas 2021, an art mentorship program led by Alfredo Esquillo of Eskinita Art Farm at Tanauan, Batangas for young Filipino artists chosen by Renato Habulan, Manny Garibay, and Mark Justiniani.
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.