LOOK: Veteran visual artists share their EDSA paintings, drawings, photos

MANILA, Philippines –  As the country is set to mark the 36th People Power anniversary on February 25, several artists have taken to social media to share their art and stories from the Martial Law era.

National Artist Ben Cab, photographer Luis Liwanag, and editorial cartoonist Jose Tence Ruiz were among the artists who spoke about what life was like in the Martial Law years – an era marked by institutionalized corruption, human rights violations, and state-sponsored suppression of dissidents by imprisonment, torture, or murder.

They also recalled what the EDSA Revolution was like, and how they felt being part of the demonstrations that put an end to the Marcos dictatorship and helped restore democracy in the Philippines.

“Out of town kami noon nang marinig namin ang nangyayari sa EDSA. Lumuwas kami pabalik ng Manila at doon ko nasaksihan ang pagdagsa ng maraming tao mula sa iba’t-ibang sector ng lipunan. Nakagawa ako ng ilang sketches habang parami ng parami ang tao,” shared artist Egai Talusan Fernandez.

(We were out of town then when we heard that EDSA was happening. We returned to Manila and I saw that people from all walks of life were flooding the streets. I was able to do a few sketches as more and more people arrived.)

“Pag nagsama-sama ang mamamayan upang ipaglaban ang karapatan laban sa Pasismo ito ay kakayanin ipanalo. Hindi ‘magic’ ang EDSA, maraming nangyari na nagtulak bago ito naganap. Ang Sining ay salamin ng kanyang kapaligiran,” he said.

(When people come together to fight for their rights against fascism, they can win. EDSA wasn’t ‘magic.’ A lot of things led up to it. Art is a mirror of its environment.)

See their art and read their stories here:

Egai Talusan Fernandez is a social-realist painter who is known for his paintings critiquing the Marcos dictatorship.

Jose Tence Ruiz is a multimedia artist known for his political cartoons which have been published in major broadsheets in the Philippines and Singapore.

Painter Renato Habulan is considered one of the pioneers of social realist art in the Philippines.

Benedicto Cabrera, known as Ben Cab, is one of the country’s most esteemed painters. He was named National Artist in 2006.

Luis Liwanag is a photojournalist whose work has been published in the New York Times, Time Magazine, Der Speigel and The Guardian. – Rappler.com