TIME TRAVELED
Last October, I was a fellow in the 10th Ateneo Heights Artists Workshop (AHAW), a 2-day event where I had the opportunity to be mentored and critiqued by established industry artists. Its culminating activity is an exhibit where the fellows feature new works which take from what we've learned.
AHAW was personally deeply enriching and revealing. It encouraged me to further examine the personal lived experiences and realities I don’t usually explore in the art I make. My submission is Time Traveled, a 2-piece series about the frustrating commuting experience in Metro Manila and more broadly, how when it comes to the way we are made to exist and move in public space in the Philippines, it is like we are stuck in past time.
LINE OF FIRE
Earlier that October, a fire broke out along the LRT line I take daily to school. The stations past Araneta-Center Cubao were shut down. Officials said full operations would return in 2 to 3 months, but as time stretched out, the stations remained closed.
NOWHERE TO GO
I still continued to commute via public transport. As the year turned, month after month, the train remained unrepaired. The other many problems of public transport—offloading incidents, long wait times—also remained unaddressed. Then all mass transportation was suspended by the government during the coronavirus disease outbreak. For the frontliners who still needed to go to work, the compromises they were provided were insufficient.
BEHIND THE TIMES
When the train broke down after the fire, I took the jeep. Sometimes, my brother and I carpooled. When public movement was restricted, I was and am able to stay at home. However, the considerable privilege I have is deprived from many commuters who have little in ways to get to where they need to be. Time Traveled reflects on how people confront the perpetual unreliability and inconvenience of the country’s transport systems where the commute feels as slow-going and outmoded as how the nation itself is being run. For where there should be space and support in times of everyday living and in crises, there is but malfunction.
