FAITH and the Filipino family are subjects that drove Thomasian Alexander Jorge Pingol to create Traces of Memory, an ensemble of paintings depicting the close family ties of Filipino culture.
The exhibit, which featured 25 oil-on-canvas paintings depicting tradtional Filipino family and rural life, was staged at The Podium Mall, Mandaluyong City and Galerie Raphael, Taguig City.
Works like “Unica Hijo,” “Banana Boat,” “Lola’s Favorite,” and “Mother’s Love” portray the intimate relationship between parents and son, happy family moments spent in the beach, the tender embrace between a grandmother and grandchild and the classic image of a mother and her child.
His other works, like “First Harvest”, “Green Pears” and “Big Catch”, among many others, show the lives of fishermen and farmers—a classic of Filipino rural life.
Pingol’s vibrant paintings and folk art style give a certain aura of children’s book illustrations and evoke a sense of warm and homely nostalgia. He said this exhibit shows his inner nature not just as an artist but as a devout and caring family man to his wife and three children.
Pingol said Traces of Memory should refer to any nostalgic longing for the past, especially for the folk and homey traditions of Filipinos which are anchored on "faith" and family closeness.
