Provenance: Private Collection, Makati City

ABOUT THE WORK

The crucifix acquires an awesome expressionist quality, building up a harsh and intense spiritual drama. Its forceful surfaces, robust modeling, and sculpturesque treatment of the crucified Christ — indeed, much of the dynamic expressionistic quality comes from the medium itself. Saprid prefers the weld-out technique with blow torch with the difference that he uses a great deal of molten metal in modeling his works out. For the welded scrap metal necessarily produces a jagged effect along the same seams where the edges are joined, sometimes calling to mind ridged scar tissue. And he took advantage of these qualities to establish constructions that have a monumental quality. Unevenness is inevitable, but the sculptor transforms this into an advantage as the welded metal sections capture the light in a restless way, suggesting movement. Textures are rough, irregular, corrugated, lines twist in complex rhythms. One reason Saprid immediately caught the attention of art watchers was his choice of subject or theme. In a December 1974 article, he was asked: What are your themes? “I began with religious themes and felt that I express them well. I especially like the theme of the Crucifixion of Christ. Then I became fascinated with characters in lower mythology, particularly half man, half figure of the tikbalang."