Tapaya’s early depictions of the contemporary Philippine experience, as seen in the 2006 piece Naku May Lalabas na Pari Diyan, are also described as highly accessible for its narrative and illustrative quality through a “fictionalized approach.” This early work, in particular, is drawn from the local saying “May lalabas na pari (o kanin) sa sugat mo kapag hindi ka tumigil sa pag-iyak.” (A priest [or rice] will come out from your wound if you won’t stop crying.) Parents would say this to their kids as a panakot sa batang makukulit (a way to scare naughty kids from misbehaving). The saying is translated literally to the canvas through the artist’s playful perspective.
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Rodel Tapaya (b. 1980)
Naku May Lalabas na Pari Diyan
signed and dated 2006 (lower right)
acrylic on burlap
30” x 24” (76 cm x 60 cm)
SOLD: PHP 1,168,000
Provenance: Provenance: Private Collection, Australia