* This lot is sold to benefit the Asian Cultural Council

ABOUT THE WORK

Noel Soler Cuizon memorializes the desaparecidos or those who had vanished without a trace, presumably killed by vigilantes or armed personnel. The term came into prominence during the dark days of the Martial Law era, where nearly 2,000 became subjected to enforced disappearances. The restoration of democracy in 1986 and the succeeding “democratic” administrations, however, did not restore the sanctity of human rights. From 2001 to 2021, there had been 254 victims of enforced disappearances in the Philippines, according to the human rights group Karapatan. Under the current regime, 19 persons have gone missing. The desaparecidos are commemorated by activists and human rights groups, various religious organizations, and their respective families on the 1st and 2nd of November. Since 2011, August 30 has been marked as International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearance following the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Despite the passage of RA 10353 or the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012, the number of illegal abductions and enforced disappearances have been steadily increasing. Families of the desaparecidos have been relentlessly expressing their discontent over the elusiveness of justice and accountability. With this piece, Cuizon makes a resounding protest with: Down with state fascism! End the culture of impunity! This work reminds us that in this era of intensified repression and state terrorism, we must not be imbued with silence. We must never go silent. We will never be silenced.