KIGAO ROSIMO: RE-EMERGENCE OF THE DEITIES

January 7, 2023 Community Billboard

Baguio artist, Kigao Rosimo has put together a collection of work celebrating highland folklore in the hope for a better understanding of the arts, local mythology and culture. Dubbed as “The Re-
Emergence of the deities: A collection of Sculptures on Indigenous Myth and Lore” exhibited at the Ili Likha Artist Watering Hole and Luisas Café in Baguio City in tandem with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

“The project will allow people to understand the Cordillera culture by reintroducing to them our past and our beliefs before we were colonized enabling the current population to have a more
holistic understanding of us as a people, as a community and as ourselves,” said Rosimo. The project is a curated collection of Philippine folklore in a one-man exhibit with deities, local gods and goddess as well as supernatural beings.

Rosimo said “The representation of these beings through 2D sculptural pieces. It will also be a personal journey for me as my ancestors are healers (Mengal) from the Gaddang tribe. The project will be exhibited at Luisas Café, the oldest Chinese restaurant in the city of Baguio right in the middle of Session Road, the city’s main streets and the Ili Likha Artist Watering Hole, a venue for arts and artisans.”

The two venues aims to bring art to the masses with its accessibility and proximity to the public.
The project aims bring into the highlight, local mythology focused on the Cordilleras which is important in the promotion of local art, heritage and culture not only for the youth but to society as a whole. Rosimo’s pieces are curated by Kawayan De Guia for the Ili Likha exhibition which include the pieces; the “Bululs in Waiting,” a mixed media piece, busts; Agbirbiruk ti arakup, Whang-od and Tatay (an offering to National Artist for Film, Kidlat Tahimik) and wall hung sculptures; “Ari Ti
Gayaman, Rusa Marianna, A Page In The Lives, Exhortation Of My Multitude, Wings Of Desire, Shaman Pay, Anina, Balbalasang, Elida Or The Guardian Of Migratory Birds, Blue Funk Goddess, Bagwis Bagiw And Sta Filomena O Ang Paglisan Ng Mga Langaylangayan.”

The Luisas café exhibition is in collaboration with Ibagtit artists, both exhibits is open for viewing till the end of the month.

Maria Elena Catajan