Juan’s ‘Spoliarium’ and Alma’s ‘Lipad Suso Lipad’ (Juan’s ‘Spoliarium’ and Alma’s ‘Fly Breasts, Fly’)

Collections
1609973
Title
Juan’s ‘Spoliarium’ and Alma’s ‘Lipad Suso Lipad’ (Juan’s ‘Spoliarium’ and Alma’s ‘Fly Breasts, Fly’)
Year/Period
2004
Region
Manila, Philippines
Dimension
Frame size: 94.0 x 73.8 x 3.5 cm,
Image size: 64.0 x 45.0 cm
Accession No.
2025-00587
Credit Line
© Imelda Cajipe Endaya

Imelda Cajipe-Endaya’s 'Conversations on the Spoliarium and Women’s Work' (2004) is a series of collages in which the artist juxtaposed silk-screened images of Juan Lunas's Spoliarium (1884), one of the most recognised works of Philippine colonial painting, with images of artworks in the style of other Philippine women artists. The series emerged as a reflection of the historical status of Philippine women in art history, and raises questions about who gets to be included in the narratives of art history. The artist noted: “This series of collages is a discourse on male art, normatively referred to as masterpiece, and women’s art and craft which have largely remained invisible in art history until very recent times. […] Women artists work with paint, words, images, embroidery, weaving, clay, and crafts, and often have no illusion that they are creating masterpieces.” This collage pays homage to the artist Alma Quinto.