Hearts

For February, Arts Month, and Hearts Month, let me give Palme Pe—artist, teacher, mother and wife—a voice here.  Palme’s   solo exhibit “Phase” is mounted in Canvas restaurant at the Terraces in Ayala Center.

We asked her to give her thoughts on art, herself and women.

“My art is a gift and blessing,” she said. “At the onset of my career as an artist, my art was solely a tool for personal expression. The smell of paint was addictive and the canvas was a window where wildest imaginations come alive.

“Over the years, art defined and redefined my world. It was a constant companion and a dose of it continuously kept me sane especially from pressures and demands of being a wife and mother. Through it I became less critical of imperfections in and outside the home, and more accepting of the perceptions of others opposite mine, and while oftentimes my husband and daughter do not understand the images I paint, my works continue to be a subject of discussion and exchange of ideas.

“Years ago, I was a participating artist and the coordinator of the travelling exhibition ‘Who Owns Women’s Bodies?’ The objective was to engage visual artists in discussions and debate on sexuality and reproductive health rights. That experience expanded my awareness of certain issues and provided answers to misconceptions. Art, therefore, opened opportunities for learning. As a woman and artist,  I am more confident to exhibit works that inspire other women. I believe that art and art making are legitimate processes that can liberate us from parochial conceptions.

“In my ongoing exhibit, ‘Phase,’ images of women are eminent. One painting titled ‘Hold My Heart So I May Live’ is a personal favorite. It shows two women, mouths silenced and hands bleeding while holding their hearts. It speaks of the continuing struggles of women, their weakness and vulnerability; yet it also shows how they persevere to survive.”

On her solo exhibit she says: “Conceiving the selfless self is essential wisdom. In the beginning, we go through transitions deriving a sense of ‘who I am’ from the perspectives of other people and then linking these to our own unique life circumstances and attributes. Eventually we establish a sense of self, autonomy, forging boundaries and yet knowing that possibilities are infinite.

“Phase” reveals disputes, struggles, vulnerability and the joys of comfort and bliss.

The title work meets you at the entrance. It is a work of special and unique beauty. It is, indeed, a representation of the flow in which Palme is  now. The  focal point is  the right opened eye. It communicated her arrival at self-realization. The work also reveals the balance she has reached.

My favorite is “Sororities’ Bliss.” In a background of rich yellow with tinges of orange, there are faces of females with various expressions: some in thought, others smiling, others critical. I like it because the work expresses very well the sense of liberation and relief that females encounter in coming together, in the sisterhood. At first I just experienced the visual without looking at the title. Upon knowing the title, I felt that in the work Palme and I had perfect communication.

Yes, there were several “heart” paintings. At the opening, the special guests included friends from the Legal Alternatives for Women Center led by Portia Dacalos, its president; Sidlak (Central Visayas Gender Resource Center)  coordinator Dr. Rhodora Masilang-Bucoy. We all found it heartwarming and truly reassuring that the condition of women has a voice in Palme’s works: their pain, their search for support, their seeking for comfort, the earnest desire for self-understanding. The “heart” paintings with their titles say these: “Core of Being” (A young girl with the heart clearly drawn); “Sweet, Sweet Pain” and “Uncertain Heart”; “Unthinkable” a large heart with complete details: veins, ventricles, arteries, and all the rest, and “Hold My Heart So I May Live.” Sometimes we hold another’s heart to find out how they are—are they well, serene or are they agitated? as in the “Finian’s Rainbow” song, “Oh, my heart is beating, wildly and it’s all because you’re here!” At the exhibit, I thought, women, too, often put their hearts in the hands of others, open to  pain or comfort. I agree with Palme—her works are “inspiring yet thought-provoking.”

The exhibit will be in Canvas till Feb. 28. On Feb. 29, five women artists will open “Leap of Faith.”