Provenance: Private Collection, Makati City

ABOUT THE WORK

In this work, Tagapagligtas, by Alfredo Esquillo, who is celebrating his 25th year as an artist, a crucifix is threatened to be engulfed by flood water as a figure (who, himself, is Christ-like) is shown to be carrying an icon of Christ removed from the cross. There are maze-like barriers between them, which convey their fundamental difference and separation. Perhaps, the crucifix represents organized religion while the figure symbolizes the faith of the common man as practiced in the world. The flood itself is Biblical; the branches shooting up indicate how high the water has risen. In his body of work, Esquillo has been exploring the concept of “loob,” the interiority that structures the life of the individual, inflecting his varied expressions of faith. In this painting, heventures: “Who is the one saving?” “What is being saved?” The answers to these questions are part of the revelation of the work’s “loob” as much as that of the one looking at it.