User talk:Mdfsantiago

Paloma Martin Dalisay (born July 5, 1991) is a Filipino painter who dedicated his craft to the victims of Extrajudicial Killings (EJKs) during the Philippine          government's "War on Drugs" campaign.

Early Life and Education
Dalisay was born in 1991 in Angono, Rizal to Pablo Dalisay and renowned artist Anagolay De Leon-Dalisay. She was the 2nd born and the only daughter of 4 children. At an early age, Paloma was exposed to both martial arts and the arts, where her father Pablo, a police officer, taught her self-defense, with Anagolay teaching her youngest daughter her craft. At age 8, Anagolay died of dengue, leaving Paloma her mothers’ prized crafts. Despite having considerable talent in traditional acrylic painting, as was her mother’s specialty, she continued to show formidable talent in martial arts, and by age 12, she was a participant in the Palarong Pambansa, where she won bronze. At age 16, she graduated from Angono National High School with honors, and having won various medals for her varsitarian activities. She continued her studies in the Ateneo de Manila University under a varsitarian scholarship. In 2010, she later transferred to the University of the Arts London to continue her life-long dream in the arts.

Early Career
In 2014, Dalisay finished her formal training under the University of the Arts London. She landed her first commision in early 2015 with the Design Museum in London, UK, where Paloma created their wall art installations for their Designer Maker User exhibit. Her contemporary minimalist style was expressed significantly during her early years in London where she worked as a mural artist for The London Mural Company. She became adept at creating contemporary and professional artwork for interior and exterior spaces. One of her notable works include the iconic “Baushaus” inspired building. After two years she resigned and experimented with contemporary realism to develop her unique representational art. In 2017, she moved back to the Philippines to gather fresh perspectives and help her complete her current goal as an artist.

As a developing artist in a new environment, Dalisay started to collaborate with local Filipino artists to create a name for herself in the local art scene. She worked her way to national recognition by doing multiple exhibits around the Philippines. Her first mural, entitled Ina was staged at the Sining Makiling Art Gallery housed by the Dioscoro L. Umali Hall located at the University of the Philippines Los Banos, Los Banos, Laguna. The work depicts a mother and child, which are portrayed to be living in poverty. Soon after, she was invited to do an exhibit at the BenCab Museum in Tuba, Benguet. Here she staged her controversial mural, Silencio, which alludes to the current political affairs in the Philippines, depicting the silence of the press and politicians during times of alarming events. The exhibit became pivotal in her career, as this earned the attention of both the masses and critics. From here on, she had switched the focus of her art from contemporary realism to social realism. In 2018, her magnum opus, Covered, was staged in the National Museum of the Philippines. The mural depicts a body laying down on the ground, covered in white cloth. This is a direct reference to the status quo in the Philippines where there is a significant increase of extrajudicial killings victims under President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, where the bodies of the victims were covered in white cloth, and how the government covered up the situation by guising it as collateral damage. In an interview, her inspiration for Covered was a response to her discovery that some of her relatives, who were high ranking police officers, were involved in cases related to EJKs.

Recent Career
Ever since she created her masterpiece in 2018, she received national recognition and was both praised and criticized for her views reflected on her murals. She continued on to express her ideas through her paintings, solidifying her social realism concept. She then created her first exhibit in, titled Bala ang Parusa, which further criticizes the war on drugs movement. The exhibit showcases four new murals along with her masterpiece, Covered. These murals were entitled Hukom, Pieta, Lumaban Kasi, and Holy Terrain.

Hukom depicts multiple red-colored guns, and together with the title the mural symbolizes how in the EJK cases, the guns become the judges themselves because the supposed criminals are killed without due process.

Pieta displays a mother holding her dead son, who is shown to be an EJK victim, by the roadside. The title references the famous renaissance painting of the same name.

Lumaban Kasi is a depiction of a barefoot woman shot down on the sidewalk with her chest still bleeding. Despite the name meaning “fought back” in Filipino, the mural is showcases the vulnerability of the EJK victims, specifically for the poor.

Holy Terrain shows a barren field right outside a walled area that are filled with men lying down with skulls as their heads. This is interpreted as of how much lives were lost due to EJKs, especially for the underprivileged that are depicted in the mural as people living outside the walled area.

Art Style and Technique
The recent works of Paloma Dalisay are best characterized by how it presents the socio-political aspects of the extrajudicial killings of the War on Drugs of the Philippines under the Duterte administration. Her works are an interrelationship between the implications of the association of her family with the said issue and the realist condemnation of the human rights violations embodied in the theme of death. Her works are an interrelationship between Not only does her murals serve as an expression of political upheaval that challenges the government and the social systems responsible for the injustices, but it also touches the jarring consequences of the EJK. That EJK is not just a socio-political issue, but a destruction of the nation’s humanity. By using social realism in her artworks, she is able to discuss the complexities of current issues and present it in a way that is digestible for the general public.

Although Dalisay had created artworks over different media, her well-known works are her acrylic murals. These murals are often landscaped, horizontally asymmetrical yet centered, and either presents a centralized distinct subject, like the Pieta, or a cluttered free-flowing pattern such as the aesthetic of Hukom. The blended form and striking colors of her previous minimalist and contemporary realist style are also lacking in her social realist works, as all of the 4 murals in her exhibit, Bala ang Parusa, showcased heavy and edgy lines. Hukom, Holy Terrain and Covered are also sketchy and repeatedly uses the same form of lines.

Despite utilizing harsh and sharp lines, the lighting of her works are dim and muted, evidently taking advantage of the solemnity achieved through chiaroscuro technique. Furthermore, the colors and tone used in her creations resonates with the socio-political turmoil it effectively depicts. Unlike most Filipino art which emphasizes vibrant color schemes and traditional foundations, Dalisay’s murals are dark and monotonous. The blending and contrast of colors are subtle, plain, and constant. There is even an evident lack of color in Covered and Pieta.

These qualities only emphasize the somber, chilling, and depressing mood of the murals. It can be seen that out of the five artworks, four is centered upon death as if to depict discordance and violence contained within stillness. Despite the lack of visually striking aesthetics, Dalisay’s works are seen as aggressive, disruptive, and controversial without sacrificing it’s conversational and authentic meaning. It is encapsulated in a deep and intellectual message yet the images made are still lyrical, intuitive, and definitely human.

Critical Evaluation
Her artworks or mural paintings earned several reactions and praises from the public and critics. Most of the negative response came from President Duterte's supporters. They accused and pointed out that Dalisay's works defamed the local police force, for her motives to her works call out their involvement in the issues of EJK. They have also questioned her motives given that she came from a family with affiliations with the police and government officials.

It is believed that this decision of Dalisay to this motif was just to divert people's attention from her family's said involvement in the Hacienda Luisita Massacre. Some also say that Dalisay only wanted to come clean, while others implied that she desperately wanted the attention of the masses. Despite negative feedbacks, many still look up to her and her works, and commend her for her style and theme. Because of Dalisay's boldness in terms of explicitly attacking those responsible for EJK cases,she earned the respect of those with similar views.

Dalisay's “guts” and courage werecommended as she was not reluctant to expose wrongdoings, even if her own family is at stake. It just shows how she is devoted to letting the people know that truth and disregards the damages she might take in the process. Aside from her brilliant mind which came up with these motifs, her skills in creating such excellent murals is indispensable. It just proves how great of an artist is Dalisay with her capability to create art in a vast space and put in her ideas seamlessly. Her current artworks were more critical as compared to her older works. Moreover, mistakes cannot happen in the whole process as she directly paints it in the medium which adds up to the skill level required for such a job. The people might have felt her dedication and courage to use her mural paintings to show Filipinos the current disputes or conflicts we are facing right now and how we can possibly resolve it through active participation and appropriate action.