The Cultural Center of the Philippines presents Testimony of What Remains, the first solo exhibition of Jason Dy, SJ at the CCP. Dy has accomplished a significant body of works out of the intertwined tradition of prayer and memory. Testimony of What Remains follows his series of projects called In Loving Memory, expanding a conversation of various recollected memories of the dearly departed through community interactions centered on bottled memorabilia, envelopes of prayer requests, and actual remnants of cemetery markers and statuettes.
To form art from the contributions of religious culture and community and to experience it as communion has become the hallmark of not just Dy’s calling as both priest and artist. These interactions also serve to provide a more contemporary take on Catholic traditions and confirms the dynamic function of faith among the parishioners and pilgrims of Dy’s Sacred Heart Parish, an adoration shrine in Cebu City. These varied contributions become recycled meanings that he uses to clue in on what remains beyond what we fear and wish for.
An additional element in Testimony of What Remains are the photographs taken by Dy during the commemoration of All Souls Day in 2012. Seen in the fourth floor’s right atrium, Earthly Pilgrimageis a series of large tarpaulin prints that captures the different scenes from one specific section of the Carreta cemetery in Cebu City. Back inside the gallery, the photo installation Squared Piece of Paradise, gives viewers a closer look inside each crypt.
Jason Dy, SJ will be giving an Artist Talk on 9 July, Tuesday, from 4:00PM to 6:00PM at the MKP Hall, 4F CCP Main Theater Building. He will give another talk at the Ateneo Art Gallery on 10 July, Wednesday, from 4:ooPM to 6:00PM and at the Casa Gorordo Museum in Cebu City on 16 July, Monday. Admission is free.
Testimony of What Remains will run until 18 August.
Gallery hours are from 10:00AM to 6:00PM, Tuesdays to Sundays.
For more information, call the Visual Arts & Museum Division at (+632) 8321125 local 1504 and 1505, or (+632) 8323702; email ccp.exhibits@gmail.com; or visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.
