ABOUT THE WORK

At a very young age, Emmanuel Garibay was already exposed to the masses' everyday realities, banalities, and vibrancies. Although born in Kidapawan, North Cotabato, Garibay spent the halcyon days of his childhood in Davao City. There, he profoundly immersed himself in the everyday activities, pursuits, and leisure of the common people. In his journey towards maturity, Garibay enrolled at the UP Los Baños, taking up Sociology. His studies introduced him to the various nuances of the human person and how society—its institutions and articulation of numerous cultural, political, social, and economic expressions— impacts the dynamics of human relationships and their place and role in society. This fortuitous venture would deeply influence his art in the years to come. Garibay would not merely confine his learnings within the four corners of the classroom."There were times when we skipped class and proceeded to Mendiola to rally… The students whom I interacted with were using their art to epitomize the suffering and realism of the time," he says in an interview with Christiane L. de la Paz and published in the article "The Quintessential ArtistStoryteller: Emmanuel Garibay" in Artes de las Filipinas. (Adrian Maranan)