Stop the killings in the name of…

A woman without a mouth stares emptily at the viewer. She clutches a photo of a presumably dead son who has a crown of barbed-wire thorns. She searches for answers in the swelling void. Evoked by the image are songs Mothers of the Disappeared by U2 and They Dance Alone by Sting, with lyrics describing women (Bono sings about Argentines; Sting, Chileans) carrying pictures of their missing husbands or sons. Framed absences. Laminated losses. Painted uncertainties.

This is how visual artist Manny Garibay presented his artwork for the "Tutok Karapatan" project, a series of art exhibits and live-art performances mounted by an alliance of artists advocating human rights to draw attention to the deteriorating human rights situation in the country. Some 300 artists – including Garibay, Ferdie Montemayor, Jose Tence Ruiz, Ruel Caasi, Mideo Cruz, Noel Cuizon, Boy Dominguez, Racquel de Loyola, Cap Reyes, Raoul "Iggy" Rodriguez, Wire Tuazon, Ramon "Chitoy" Zapata, Mike Muñoz, Noell El Farol, and Alfredo Juan Aquilizan, among others – are asking the government to take steps in stopping the political killings nationwide.

"This is the response of artists to what is happening in our country," says "Tutok Karapatan" project director Karen Ocampo Flores. She adds that the support of artists has been overwhelming since the "Tutok" workshops were started in a workshop-conference on women, art and healing in Sambalikhaan, Quezon City in November last year.

During a loose discussion of recent news about a spate of killings of members of militant groups, some artists came up with an idea of memorializing the victims through a series of portraits.

While other artists are coming up with their infinite series on flowers, still lifes and idealized women harvesting rice in an idyllic universe, some artists are becoming more and more unsettled by the culpable violation of human rights in our society. And since art is an extension of life, these fears and doubts have found a way of creeping onto the canvas, the surfaces of sculptures and the props of performances. To confront all of us who have chosen to look away.

"Essentially, the project stands from a point of inquiry, and all art activities emanating will point to, and represent the diversity of directions that the inquiry can lead to," explains Flores.

Mideo Cruz says the works featured in the "Tutok Perspektiba 1" exhibit in UST reflect on "the outcome of street violence, of dislocation, of political repression, of fascism as embodied in the consciousness."

Marie Hilao-Enriquez, secretary general of the Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights, concludes, "We laud this effort because art has a way of capturing the imagination of people and arousing interest in them. This way, artists can raise the public’s awareness and rally support for the cause of human rights. Let the colors burst on canvas, let clays and metals be fashioned, and let the many voices reverberate aloud so that the spilling of innocent blood may cease."

And so that Bono or Sting may sing about something else.

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"Tutok Karapatan" begins with "Tutok: Perspektiba 1" from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2 at the Beato Angelico Gallery, University of Santo Tomas (and is co-presented with the UST College of Fine Arts and Design); "Dos por Dos," will be on view from Dec. 2 to 30 at the Boston Gallery in Cubao, Quezon City; "Tutok Perspektiba 2" opens in January 2007 at the Amrhein Gallery of St. Scholastica’s College (and is co-presented with the St. Scho Department of Fine Arts); "Tutok Perspektiba 3" opens in February 2007 at the UP Faculty Center Gallery (and is co-presented with the UP Department of Art Studies, College of Arts and Letters); and "Review: Pasang Masid" will be on view from Feb. 8 to April 1, 2007 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. For more information, e-mail tutokarapatan@gmail.com.