The Story Behind the Much-Talked-About Painting of a Can of Sardines

Is ayuda from the state enough as the COVID-19 pandemic stretches into its second year? A University of the Philippines Fine Arts student tries to answer this question with a painting of a tiny can of sardines against a vast expanse of nothing.

Jadie Regala Pasaylo's "Alay na Ginhawa sa Gitna ng Pandemya," created quite the storm on Facebook. His post has been shared nearly 5,000 times as of Monday, May 10. It also got 10,000 reactions and 450 comments.

"I understand that unless the needs of the people are diligently provided, the people will always be lost and relentlessly devoured by the swelling void of hunger, negligence, and apathy. Ayudas are like Filipinos: mistreated and mishandled," he told reportr.

People are the usual casualties of the natural occurrences. They are caught off guard, left jeopardized, and forsaken...

Posted by Jadie Regala Pasaylo on Monday, May 3, 2021

For the two-week ECQ in Metro Manila, Laguna, Rizal, Cavite, and Bulacan in early 2021, some P23 billion in aid or ayuda was handed out; that amounts to P1,000 per person or up to P4,000 per household. In 2020, billions of pesos in direct cash aid was given to indigent families on top of assistance in kind.

Pasaylo submitted his work to the 2021 GSIS Painting Competition, where the top prize is P300,000. As of writing, he has yet to receive word if he got in.

"Believing that my artwork wasn't accepted by the institution nor qualified in the competition, I decided to just post my artwork to still deliver what I supposed is a portrait of the Filipino situation this pandemic."

Pasaylo said he was not planning on selling his painting until he got a call from a buyer. He is selling his other works, including one entitled "Pietang Ina."

"Katulad ng isang nanggagalit na pulang sardinas ay ganon din kaanghang ang pakikibaka ng bawat Pilipino para marinig ang boses ng mga nasa ibaba," he said.

Also read:
Pop Culture Becomes Protest Art in DLSU Student's Eye-Catching Pieces

President Rodrigo Duterte has yet to decide on whether to extend or end the MECQ, the second highest level of quarantine, that is keeping some 24 million people in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces in a bubble as of writing.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua has called for a downgrade of the MECQ after it is scheduled to end on May 14. Data as of April from the Department of Trade and Industry showed that around 1.5 million folks were unable to work during the two-week ECQ. 

Pasaylo's minimalist painting of a single, dark-red can of sardines may be, at its most objective, just that—but the discussion it generated signals how deeply the image has affected people. Tensions during our second year of battling a pandemic, the surge in cases we are currently facing, and the impending 2022 elections all surround this painting. And as Pasaylo wrote in his original post, "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable," a goal it seems the work has achieved. 

This story originally appeared on Reportr.world. Minor edits have been made by the editors.

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Source: Spot PH