This piece is accompanied by a certificate issued by Finale Art File confirming the authenticity of this lot

Literature: Literature: Roces, Alfredo. KIUKOK: Deconstructing Despair. Finale Art Gallery, Manila. 2000. p.233.

ABOUT THE WORK

As one of the enduring themes of the National Artist Ang Kiukok, Screaming Figures represents an existential cry, an assertion of defiance, a release from suffering. The violence he has witnessed and experienced in life has been a profound motivation in his work. Ang Kiukok’s violence is not something gratuitous, but it is both an inspiration for his art and a source of strength. It is, to quote the exhibit note on his homecoming exhibition in Davao City in 1981, “a visual allegory for the age—or of any age for that matter—as long as abuse of power, disequilibrium, and injustice continue to exist in the world Ang Kiukok’s works are enduring records of suffering and resistance, of despair and hope.” What is essentially unique about this particular work is the presence of a lead figure set against six other screaming figures in an unbroken red background—all of them constricted and struggling for freedom, with one rebellious leader having successfully freed himself from a pair of handcuffs. Works such as this are some of the most collected of the artist, a deeply existential man who saw that the role of humanity was to achieve absolute freedom. In the same year, Kiukok represented the Philippines in consecutive exhibitions in Asiaworld Art Gallery, Taipei.