Kidlat Tahimik’s Art Installation on the ‘Impact of Colonialism’ to Launch in Madrid

MANILA, Philippines — The art installation of National Artist for Film Eric Oteyza de Guia, aka Kidlat Tahimik, titled “Magellan, Marilyn, Mickey & Fr. Dámaso. 500 Years of Conquistador RockStars” will be showcased at the Glass Palace in Madrid’s Buen Retiro Park from Oct. 28 to March 6.

The said art exhibition will center on the “impact of colonialism on local cultures.” The Glass Place, its chosen venue, is controversial for presenting “Exposition of the Philippines” in 1887 where 43 Igorots were showcased.

Kidlat Tahimik is expected to set up a scenario showing indigenous resistance in the Philippines and the “contamination of the imperialist cultures” imported from Europe and North America. The said project also represents an analysis on the 500^th anniversary of the first encounter between Spain and the Philippines.      

Kidlat Tahimik, whose name means “silent lighting” in Tagalog, was born in Baguio in 1942. He has worked as an actor, performer, writer and a filmmaker. His artistic practice is usually structured by large multidisciplinary installations, and his art is commonly expressed in metaphors.

He has been awarded at international film festivals, including the Berlinale International Critics Award in 1977, and recently the Prince Claus Laureate Award in 2018. At the 14^th Sharjah Biennial in 2019, he presented “Ang Ma-bagyong Sabungan ng 2 Bathala ng Hangin, A Stormy Clash Between 2 Goddesses of the Winds (WW III – the Protracted Kultur War),” which received critical acclaim.

“Magellan, Marilyn, Mickey & Fr. Dámaso. 500 Years of Conquistador RockStars” is hosted by Museo Reina Sofía and the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo.