"EDSA Noon" by Fred Liongoren, oil on canvas (1986).In the heady days of 1986, EDSA represented hope, change, and possibility. It united Filipinos, captured the imagination of the world, and represented a proud high point in Philippine history.
Today, 25 years removed, EDSA still represents hope - but the hope is challenged, strained, if not shattered for many. Some of us still cling to the dream, others have cast it off as a mirage. It remains an important point in our history. But, the point of it all - meaningful, progressive change that benefits everyone - remains elusive.
There is, of course, the future, which will now be increasingly traversed by Filipinos who were not even born, or who may have been too young to understand what was going on back in 1986. What do they... what will they... think of EDSA? Not having lived through the moment, can they truly appreciate the lessons and difficult challenges that EDSA carries, and will they ever be in a position to even judge its success or failure?
It is this generational disconnect between those of us who were there, and those of us who are often only told, “if only you had been there!” - and between the promise of 1986 and the reality that confronts us today 25 years after - that Looking for Juan seeks to bridge through Mga Kuwentong EDSA.
This modest art exhibition is a two-man interaction between Fred Liongoren (an multi-awarded and highly respected artist, and a veteran of EDSA), and Daniel Aligaen (an artist at the start of his career, and also present in EDSA if only as an unborn baby in his then pregnant mother’s womb).
Mga Kuwentong EDSA opens with cocktails on February 22, 2011 at 6pm at the Looking for Juan Artspace in Serendra, Bonificio Global City, Taguig.
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