The exhibit “Maria: A Kaleidoscope” is an exploration in presenting the traditional image of the Filipina in Filipiniana attire by artist Norjan Ismail Abbas. Moving further along his “Talukbong at Tapis” 2024 exhibit, Maria is a focused exploration into the “Alternative Filipiniana.”
For this exhibit, “kaleidoscope” refers to the different images/roles of the Filipina at a certain historical period, probably at the turn of the 20th century or post-American period, as seen in these images. In Maria, one can glean the iconic women of Fernando Amorsolo’s paintings: images of women bathing in rivers, women selling in the town plaza, and women going to church.
Abass, in this second iteration, utilizes the abstract, the modernist, and Fauvist-inspired styles (though most of the pieces are in muted colors) in the representation of the Filipina with a strong emphasis on her garb. It is a re-imagination of the nostalgic colonial Filipina using a contemporary lens.
