Dolorosa III

Title
Dolorosa III
Year/Period
1970
Region
Philippines
Dimension
Image size: 80.0 x 55.0 cm,
Image size: 79.0 x 55.5 cm,
Frame size: (Matte board) 99.4 x 71.2 x 0.4 cm
Accession No.
2023-01414

The grimacing figure in Dolorosa—which means “painful” in Spanish—is surrounded by several symbols: a target; two circles representing “hot” and “cold”; and cigarette burns, applied by the artist to reflect the callousness and violence of the time. The work refers to victims of the Vietnam War, but can also be read more generally to represent those caught between opposing ideologies during the Cold War.