Provenance: Private Collection, Antipolo City

ABOUT THE WORK

When Emmanuel Garibay temporarily veers away from his thoughtprovoking works dissecting the dark and harsh side of Philippine reality, the eminent social realist explores and fosters Filipino values rooted in our history and traditions as a people. Simply titled Mother and Child, this particular piece depicts a familiar and much-loved scene in Philippine art. Owing to his Christian upbringing, in which the image of the Blessed Mother and the Child Jesus is part and parcel of the faith, Garibay imbibes the image of a mother and child with much veneration and exaltation. Garibay depicts a child tenderly clinging to his beloved mother, who in turn affectionately wraps her arms around her child in the act of care and protection. Garibay’s expressionist faculty is unleashed through his employment of bold brushstrokes and strong colors, resulting in a visually compelling work that shows the incorruptible intimacy and the life-giving and lifenurturing interdependence between a mother and her child. (A.M.)