(UPDATE) Looking for the Last Supper

UPDATE: Editor’s note: Added videos.

By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

KNOWN for its wood-carved religious images, Paete is a haven for sculpture. But behind the religious images are two different sculptors whom I met while looking for the Last Supper.

When I entered Galerie Christine, I was amazed by the paintings and sculpture displayed.

There I met a young sculptor, Glenn Cagandahan, a Fine Arts graduate of the University of the Philippines-Diliman. He shared that he once only created art when he was in the mood. But then, sometimes it takes a month before inspiration motivates him to do sculptures. His wake-up call came when he was asked to do masks for a theatrical production at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños.

Here’s a video interview I conducted.

What makes his masks distinct is the unusual material. I was surprised to learn that epoxy clay, the same one used in construction, was his medium.

It takes him an average of forty minutes to create a mask. He creates different facial expressions inspired by Pinoy characteristics.

“Expressive kasi tayong mga Pinoy. Pinapakita kung galit man, malungkot o masaya,” he explained.

The Pinoy element is evident not only in the facial expression but also the physical features (especially the nose). He shared that he has also experimented with combining the epoxy with different materials such as wood and steel.

An important lesson that he learned was that one will be inspired if he works every day.

“If you wait to be inspired, it will not come,” he said.

After a chat with Glenn, I left the gallery to continue my hunt for the Last Supper. I chanced upon a humble dwelling where an old man was carving on wood. What caught my attention was not his wood carving but the fact that was in a wheelchair. His name is Ernesto Agbada. I found out from him that he contracted polio when he was still three months old. He shared that he does not know any livelihood except for carving wood. It has been his bread and butter because it was what he knew since his childhood. No one taught him how to carve. His sculpture is the result of his imagination, but surprisingly, he revealed that he is really not that interested in his craft.

“Mapapaganda ko pa sana ang mga ito kung hilig ko talaga,” he said.

Here’s a video interview I conducted.

Mang Ernesto shared that this Last Supper is an unfinished piece due to financial difficulties.

Ironies, no matter what shape or form, do exist in a place called Paete. Passion drives one young sculptor to create art, while an older one is left with no choice but to carve wood in order to survive.

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