Lot description
Elmer Borlongan (b.1967) Watering Hole signed and dated 2005 (lower left) oil on canvas 48” x 60” (122 cm x 152 cm) Provenance: Boston Gallery At the time of Elmer Borlongan’s graduation from the University of the Philippines in 1987, the Philippines was facing a turbulent turn of events. On January 22, 1987, a peaceful mobilization of farmers and peasants led to a violent dispersal. Widespread daily electric power outages paralyzed the economy which was still far from recovery after the 1986 EDSA Revolution. Massive destruction brought by the 1990 Luzon earthquake and the 1991 Mt. Pinatubo eruption further incapacitated the already crippling economy. Immediately, Borlongan felt the need to awaken the Filipinos’ social consciousness through his art. He eventually joined the national democratic artist collective Artista ng Bayan (ABAY), partook in doing protest art, and organized and mobilized students. Having been born and raised in the environs of Nueve de Febrero in San Juan City where the working-class population thrived, Borlongan profoundly exposed himself to the everyday struggles of the Filipino proletariat, which will later influence his art. However, it was his sensitive depiction of the urban poor in the early 1990s that brought him to the foreground. Due to his inclination towards the portrayal of a certain social class, Borlongan found himself associated with the Social Realist movement. He described his style as figurative expressionism. His artworks are characterized by peculiar yet unique imagery that includes disproportionate and bald heads, stretched limbs, and enlarged eyes - features that are “devoid of bourgeois humanity, as stressed by Lisa Guerrero-Nakpil. His art is generally seen as an attack against bourgeois control of our humanity. He expressed in his acceptance speech upon his bestowment of the CCP Thirteen Artists Award that his “art deals in powerful expression-filled terms, about the harsh realities of the Filipino’s day-to-day existence, their battles and combats with life, their conflicts and the overall bitter drama of human existence”.
