UP mounts ‘Barikada’ art installation in honor of Diliman Commune’s 50th anniversary
The University of the Philippines continues to raise its voice against the issues trampled on them. This time, through art.
On Monday, Jan. 25, the state university began erecting an art installation called “Barikada” at the Oblation Plaza in UP Diliman, Quezon City. Designed by multi-media artist Toym Imao, the exhibition aims to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Diliman Commune on Feb. 1 to 9 this year.
The Diliman Commune was an uprising led by student activists, faculty members, and transport groups of UP Diliman (UPD) from Feb. 1 to 9, 1971, to stop the intrusion of the Quezon City Police and the now-dissolved MetroCom troops into the campus during the Marcos administration.
“The barricades served as the climax to the series of dramatic challenges which characterized student activism in the University of the Philippines. After the barricades, there were no more forms of dissent that could surprise the UP administration,” the Diliman Commune said in a Facebook post.
In another Facebook post on Jan. 25, Imao said that while viewers have the right to their own interpretation of “Barikada,” it could also represent UP’s extensive and raucous history as an institution fighting against injustice in the country.
“May kalayaan po kayo gumawa ng sariling interpretasyon or conspiracy theory, nasa isang demokrasya po tayo (or at least yun ang alam namin),” he continued. “Pero, kung kami ang inyong tatanungin, isa po itong paraang biswal ng paggunita sa isang makabuluhang yugto sa kasaysayan ng isang institusyon at ang kanyang komunidad na mulat at handang ipaglaban ang karapatan at tama laban sa isang diktadurya.”
The "Barikada," as Imao said, is made out of repurposed materials, such as bamboo or old furniture found in the university. “Hindi po siya gawa sa 50 million peso na kaldero, 389 million na dolomite, o mula sa 15 billion na pondo ng PhilHealth (ay nasali),” he remarked.
“At kulay pula po siya katulad ng kulay ng rosas, ng lipstick ni ate, o truck ng bumbero at mansanas na kagat kagat ng litson, o yung inabot ni Eba kay Adan sa paraiso,” he added.
“Para sa malayang pagpapahayag ng sining, pagbibigay pugay sa kasaysayan ng pakikibaka, at malutong na pagsonnapabitz sa mga mahilig magpinta ng dilaw at pula sa aming mga ordinaryong mamamayan, mabuhay ang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas! Mabuhay ang Sining!”
Apart from "Barikada," Imao is setting up another art installation dubbed “Desaparecidos” (Spanish for “disappeared”) at the UP Theater from Feb. 1 to 9. Same as ‘Barikada,’ the artwork seeks to “retell stories from that pivotal period in the history of the UP student movement.”
The construction of these art installations follows the Department of Defense's termination of the UP-DND deal on Jan. 15 and the Armed Forces of the Philippines' erroneous red-tagging of several UP students on Jan. 22.
Photos from UP Diliman OICA Facebook page.