• Culture
    Culture
    Filipino actors Bridgerton

    Get to know the Filipino actors in ‘Bridgerton’

    pura luka vega chappell roan church

    Matched her freak! Pura Luka Vega performs Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ at ‘Church’

    AI and deepfake porn is a form of sexual assault—and we need to talk about it

    AI and deepfake porn is a form of sexual assault—and we need to talk about it

    • Women
    • Queer
    • Politics
    • Environment
    • Food
  • Style
    Style
    Pond's serums

    These night serums are your new solutions for radiant, glowing skin

    5 original Filipino fragrance brands to check out

    5 original Filipino fragrance brands to check out

    Here’s where you can get unique, one-off accessories—designed by you

    • Fashion
    • Beauty
    • Space
    • Shopping
  • Entertainment
    Entertainment
    Filipino actors Bridgerton

    Get to know the Filipino actors in ‘Bridgerton’

    pura luka vega chappell roan church

    Matched her freak! Pura Luka Vega performs Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ at ‘Church’

    charlie’s angels totally spies!

    Our favorite onscreen spies, from Austin Powers to ‘Totally Spies!’

    • Celebrities
    • TV & Movies
    • Music
  • Life+Money
    Life+Money
    Single woman adopts baby

    Forming a family: When a single woman adopts a baby

    painting of baby

    A mother-to-be’s survival guide

    Navigating a friend breakup that has no bad blood

    It’s no one’s fault: When a friendship naturally runs its course

    • Career & Money
    • Parenting & Relationships
    • Sex & Health
    • Astrology
    • Travel
  • Inquirer.net
  • Lifestyle
Reading
Artist Nikki Luna Turns Bones Into a Political Statement
ShareTweet
In Career & MoneyCulture ProfilesLocal CulturePreenProfilesProfiles HomeWomen
2 min read

Artist Nikki Luna Turns Bones Into a Political Statement

By Chryssa Celestinoon September 7, 2015
Share
Nikki Luna CCP Preen
White, pieces of human vertebrae, and the word ‘labor’ in neon-lit capital letters—these were the first things I saw when I walked into Nikki Luna’s 13 Artists’ show.
 
And if I had known the award-winning artist before this exhibit, I should’ve expected a far more intricate display of a moving political sentiment—which, it was, and I just missed it. Like many others who could’ve easily mistaken Nikki’s aesthetic as merely pretty things with a punk rock theme.
Nikki Luna Labor CCP Preen
 
One of four females in this year’s roster of CCP’s 13 Artists, Nikki represents the sex she knows best. She makes art about women not because she simply identifies with them, but because somebody needs to speak for them. Her show here, which will run until Oct. 25, gestures to another disappointing truth on female life.
 
Nikki has a sharp mind for symbols. What I initially thought were bones crafted from scratch were actually a female laborer’s hand-painted pelvis, a few other fragments of her tired spine, and an allusion to the forgotten Kentex fire. They were bits and pieces that refer to the multiple burdens that the working woman carries. Nikki dug these skeletons—with permission from the families concerned, of course— to remind us of the realities we tend to ignore, and the social norms that we need to start questioning.
Nikki Luna Labor CCP Preen
 
 “In reality, women work longer hours,” says Nikki, who later on cites their needed presence in the workforce and at home, “The biggest thing that’s not valued by society is when people say someone is a housewife or doing household chores. Just because it’s unpaid doesn’t mean it doesn’t have any value. That’s the multiple burden [I’m tackling in my work.] That’s why I have symbolisms of anatomical parts.”
 
An artist must show, not tell. This time, Nikki mounts an installation that relies heavily on her arresting images. In case the history they carry don’t reframe thought about women, she’s adamant about making art to help the cause.
 
“More than anything, it’s not just in art where [women] aren’t represented or valued. It’s in society as a whole. I speak for developing countries, especially the Philippines where a large percentage is marginalized.” Nikki reflects. “There’s a need to improve and progress, whether they be gender equality or footing. There are so many things that we need to do and keep on doing.”
 
“There’s still a long way to go [for women],” says Nikki, quite correctly. On her way to achieving what she can do, she’ll be having a show in New York next year to celebrate gender sensitivity, and collaborating with a major clothing brand to help spread the word.
 
We don’t have to be Nikki. To prove a point and cause the mildest change, we don’t have to dig skeletons or make art if we can’t. Because the artist—her, the three other women of the 13 artists’ group, and many others—just wants us to listen. How else we take action is our own call and appreciated reaction. 
 
Photo by Paolo Tabuena  
 
With additional reporting by Olivia Estrada 
Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0

Action Required!

We embed Facebook Comments plugin to allow you to leave comment at our website using your Facebook account. It may collects your IP address, your web browser User Agent, store and retrieve cookies on your browser, embed additional tracking, and monitor your interaction with the commenting interface, including correlating your Facebook account with whatever action you take within the interface (such as “liking” someone’s comment, replying to other comments), if you are logged into Facebook. For more information about how this data may be used, please see Facebook’s data privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update.

Accept    Decline

Tags
artCultural Center of the PhilippineslaborNikki Luna

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stay in the loop


By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

ShareTweetEmailShare
Chryssa Celestino

Peek This

Pond's serums

These night serums are your new solutions for radiant, glowing skin

Filipino actors Bridgerton

Get to know the Filipino actors in ‘Bridgerton’

pura luka vega chappell roan church

Matched her freak! Pura Luka Vega performs Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ at ‘Church’

AI and deepfake porn is a form of sexual assault—and we need to talk about it

AI and deepfake porn is a form of sexual assault—and we need to talk about it

Preen.ph © 2020. Hinge Inquirer Publications, Inc.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • HOME
  • ARCHIVES
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
Previous
Kristen Stewart May Have Found an ‘Emotionless’ Role Just For Her
Next
Lilianna Manahan’s Whimsical Creatures Take Her to Paris Design Week
  • Culture
    • Women
    • Queer
    • Politics
    • Environment
    • Food
  • Style
    • Fashion
    • Beauty
    • Space
    • Shopping
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrities
    • TV & Movies
    • Music
  • Life+Money
    • Career & Money
    • Parenting & Relationships
    • Sex & Health
    • Astrology
    • Travel
  • Inquirer.net
  • Lifestyle
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Search
Start typing to see results or hit ESC to close
fashion fashion news music Culture News movies
See all results

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stay in the loop


By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.