Literature: Norimitsu Onishi. "Dynasty at Stake, Imelda Marcos Campaigns With a Vengeance." The New York Times (New York City), May, 8, 2010.

ABOUT THE WORK

Here Lies Love - It was not the first time photographer Jes Aznar met Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady who had been out of the public eye for years following the 1986 People Power Revolution. Yet, there was something incongruous and surreal about this encounter, which took place in a bustling food park inside a mall in Ilocos Norte, where she had chosen to eat alongside her aides and supporters. In this setting, she unveiled her family’s plan for a political comeback, with her son Bongbong’s bid for the presidency. The flick of her pinky finger, a musical album created exclusively about her by one of the greatest living musical geniuses, David Byrne, her signature “Imeldiffic” reaction upon hearing Bryne's Here Lies Love on her iPod and an interview with the world’s largest newspaper conducted in a public food court—these were all unmistakable signs of a force that simply refused to fade into obscurity. This decisive moment, captured by Aznar, would prove historical for the Philippines, culminating years later in May 2022 when Bongbong would win the presidency in a landslide victory. The New York Times published Imelda’s story and photos in 2010. In 2014, David Byrne leased Aznar’s photograph for a reprint of Here Lies Love, adding Imelda Marcos’s image to the album cover.