Upholding human rights by translating advocacies into art was the theme of “The Weight of Words: An Alphabet on Human Rights,” an exhibit that opened last Nov. 24 at Pasilyo Guillermo Tolentino and Pasilyo Victorio Edades of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Three out of 11 artist were Thomasians who put the spotlight on the importance of upholding human rights.
Each artist were given letters from the alphabet to interconnect it with their own interpretation of the basic human rights.
“The wake-up call regarding human rights should start at least with the artist, people in academe, [who can explain] why human rights is important,” Wesley Valenzuela, an alumnus of the old UST College of Architecture and Fine Arts, told the Varsitarian in an interview.
Valenzuela mounted “Information,” a red-hued digital art framed in a lightbox, which shows a man with his arms outstretched and a brain-like fly.
UST advertising graduate Keith Dador’s “Revisionism” depicted a woman’s face covered with a white veil.
According to Dador, his photograph is about “social media” and its “abuses.”
“Social media is now used as the voice of the people but sometimes people used it to violate the dignity of others,” he said.
John de Vera’s “Question” is a gavel, or a ceremonial mallet used by a judge, shaped in letter “C” surrounded by wood scraps.
“The Weight of Words: An Alphabet of Human Rights” runs until Jan 20, 2018.
