Leap of Faith

CEBU, Philippines – Fresh from his triumphant return to the Ayala Museum (his third one-man exhibit in nearly as many years), Raymond Legaspi quickly follows up with a show in his native Sugarlandia entitled “How Big Is Your Faith.”

As everyone in the art world now knows, Raymond was a former ad executive in Makati, his creative juices tapped by international agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather and J. Walter Thompson. Then, a dramatic shift in life choices came about, as Raymond chucked his ad agency career and skipped off to Bacolod City to concentrate on his real calling - painting. 

Raymond has received both critical and commercial success, receiving the Juror’s Choice accolade at the Philippine Art Awards, while prolifically (but not quickly enough for his many fans) producing enough material for at least three separate one-man shows in Manila.

First came Daster, Raymond’s take on the native dresses so ubiquitous in small-town Philippines. Then came Tango, a refreshing look at dancing matrons and gigolos, and this year, Raymond came into town with the Circus Show, a pointed parallelism between buffoons in politics and the circus. All of these were met with rave reviews, and there was an immediate clamour for more. Now, Raymond presents his latest offering – an examination of the interweaving of faith and its devotees.

As much social commentary as artistic expression, his show features canvasses upon which is writ the dominance of the church in our daily lives. While still quirky, Raymond delights with these bursts of color, with reverential strokes and irreverent pokes.

One particular favorite is Big Dolorosa, a weeping icon being trundled across the town, her progress being viewed by three village women in their Legaspi-trademark ‘dusters.’ The icon is frocked in what we can only surmise is luxurious black velvet, trimmed with sweeping gold embellishments. The sky is eggplant purple, while the looming clouds are blue with a silver lining. It has been many years of devotion for these women, their life slowly passing them by, much as the giant statue being paraded before them.

Another favorite is Santo Entiero, a Jesus icon resting on a bed of golden flowers while being escorted by the gentlemen of the village. (Raymond lets me in on the secret that he’s painted himself in on this one). The attitudes of the gentlemen are interesting – one is smoking nonchalantly, another seems to be offering the last one a mint for fresher breath, and yet another tenderly cups the flame of his candle. Obviously, this religious exercise has different depths of significance for the participants.

As writer Therese Endriga sums it up, “being a nation with strong Catholic underpinnings, Philippine religion is a larger-than-life experience. Our culture is crowded and crossed over with symbols and statues of our faith, each bigger than the last. Artist Raymond Legaspi’s latest series “How Big Is Your Faith?” takes a look at the roles we have assigned these icons; and the role religion plays in our workaday world….The bottom line is that icons only have as much meaning as we’re willing to assign them. Whether the symbols are inherited or our own, there is no denying (that) the presence of religion has shaped our culture. And Legaspi’s latest series invites us to examine what that meaning is for each of us”.

(Raymond’s show opens at Museo Negrense at La Salle, Bacolod City on July 2 and runs until August 9)