Lot description
A seated, cross-legged, woman in a baro’t saya envelops the body of a child. Ang Kiukok explores the links between the fragile beauty of motherhood and the startling power of violence. The limp child, head tipped far back, is clutched to the mother. Her features are mostly hidden by the child's arm—her stooped head silently communicates her explosive feelings. With her loving arms--especially a strong, thick hand--she draws the child toward her. Her embrace is allconsuming. The mother's muscular leg forms the base of the monolithic shape that confronts the viewer. Most of the lines the artist uses to shape and shade the forms are aggressive, taut, and meaningful, contributing energy to the surface. As a bit of relief from the overall grief, Ang Kiukok drew the lines of the woman's hair into an elegant bun and delicately rendered the boy's features. The mother, with the pale-colored body of her weak child between her thigh bones and arms, seeks with her face hidden by sorrow, to swallow back into herself the disappearing life that once belonged to her womb.
