INVOCATION

A GROUP EXHIBITION
MAY 9 – MAY 21, 2023

The act of invocation is usually reserved for the beginning of one’s day, opening a program, or at moments when one is about to embark on an important function or significant duty. It is prioritized as a symbolic gesture that acknowledges a higher being that oversees our fate.

Outside of the gallery space, we may be familiar with invocations being expressed through dance or song as a mean of prayer. This gesture is thought to be conducted as a solemn experience, often prompted by graceful acts dedicated to a higher power. In exchange, blessings or guidance would be granted upon those who offer these acts.

For Invocation, we are presented works by Michelle Alde, Kat Malazarte, Erika Mayo, Madonna Montera, and Raine Sarmiento. Each of the five women artists respond to the notion of invocation as an act of appeasing a higher power in ways that reflect the individual’s view on faith and spirituality. Different forms of invocation are explored by the artists, be it through prayer, sacrifice, conjuring, or self-identification.

Michelle Alde’s works illustrate figures draped in white cloth. Each of them is posed on bent knees amid various acts of worship. Erika Mayo also delves into the practice of worship through a series of paintings of a two-headed calf being lifted into the sky, a symbolism that recalls religions that worship the image of cows and calves.

The female form is also very visible in the act of invocation. This is explored by artists Madonna Montera, who approaches the subject through the lens of a personal contemplative spiritual journey. And Raine Sarmiento whose pieces bring attention to the female body, as a vessel or messenger to the gods.

And lastly, Kat Malazarte’s works brings light to Filipino Catholic Heritage and Tradition. She paints images of invocation rites surrounding the sacred image of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Nuestra Señora de la Purificación y la Candelaria).

Collectively the works elicit the notion of solemnity while acknowledging that there is no one way to express and experience invocation. The show makes evident that it is in our nature to turn to higher powers, spirits, or energies to lend guidance in our daily life.

text by Marz Aglipay