ABOUT THE WORK

Lydia Velasco holds a degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Advertising from the University of Santo Tomas and was a core member of Mauro Malang Santos’ Saturday Group. Her works mainly focus on women, emancipating them on her canvases and upholding their liberty and womanhood from the chains of patriarchy. She describes her women figures as “elongated, massive, heavily set, and invigorated with almost masculine assertiveness,” implying a reversal on traditionally attributed gender roles and an attack on the perceived weakness of women in a society dominated by male chauvinism. Velasco’s art traverses through the vast avenues of womanhood. Her distinctive style of depicting women exudes a high degree of strength and confidence. Notwithstanding her feminist stance, Velasco has always recognized the intrinsic femininity of Filipino women– one that is still veiled in enigma and bewitchment. As art critic Cid Reyes characterized her depiction of women as “strong, resilient yet, still overflowing with femininity,” Velasco strongly asserts that a woman’s ethos lies in her innate ability to endure and liberate herself from the shackles of machismo.