Warm hues on cold skins: Julie Lluch chronicles life in coldcast

By Kristine Joy Diane Sarmiento

May 25, 2023

(Photo sourced from Manila Bulletin)

“That is the function of art – to make the unbearable bearable, the ugly, lovely. “

The human body is a collection of shattered pieces of history, stories, obscurities, and glories. It is a colorful multitude of everything, all at once—and Julie Lluch’s work on “Chronicles on Skin” perfectly encapsulates the permanence of these hapless moments etched onto us through the genius utilization of coldcast bodies as her canvas.

Lluch's latest art commentary venture stands fascinatingly eerie on this 18-day open exhibition held at the Galerie Stephanie on the 4th floor of Shangri-la Plaza East Wing, which ran from March 17 to April 3, 2023.

“Chronicles on Skin” strays away from the typical notion of art as it frontlines what it takes for art to be contemporary. Lluch’s work is an enchanting fusion of sculpting and painting, delving into the elements of contemporary mixed media. With an even more unusual canvas for painting—a coldcast marble in her case—Lluch partakes in a whole new level of art evolution, all empowered by the desire to tell stories of violent Filipino encounters.

Lluch unveils an enchanting roster of vignettes directly rooted from the Philippines’ past encounters and tangos with the devil. Each one of the displayed shivered limbs and torsos tells a tale of oppression, social injustices, violence and revolting junctures within the vicinity of the country. It is disturbing, eye-opening, and reminiscent of the instances that the country was forced to withstand.

After completing a degree in Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas in 1967, Lluch set forth into the dimensions of sculpting through self-learning. Her dauntless interpretations of epic encounters make her storytelling one of a kind. Physical imprints of grim on cold and shattered human bodies epitomize her call for involvement in the national discourse of unapologetic self-expressions. Her social commentaries in the forms of sculptures and paintings are her unique way of providing an artistic platform for those communities deemed marginalized by the ever-evolving fists of the structures of society.

Recoloring her already used casts from earlier exhibitions, creating a more poetic dissonance of dissected body parts to symbolize long and exhausting battles against slaughter and oppression. “I just cut it up into body parts, if that means anything. I guess it means something, no? Shoulder, arm, leg, torso, it’s still related to the concept of violence to the human body,” says Lluch.

One striking artwork of hers is "The Guerilla is a Poet," which was based on the late Joma Sison’s poem. It’s a carefully drenched color on a fragmented torso with women charging toward a battle for peace and freedom. Lluch’s passion for activism and feminism, which reflects this very artwork of hers, was also accomplished in memory of poet and activist Kerima Lorena Tariman, who passed away in 2021 during a conflict between the New People's Army and the Philippine military.

Other works of hers reminisce the stories of Ferdinand Magellan's Death at the hands of Lapu-Lapu through Resistance 1521, Andres Bonifacio and Corazon Aquino’s seemingly similar victory poses through EDSA Chronicles and Badi Grapiti (Para kay Ericson) which was a tribute to Ericson Acosta, National Democratic Front consultant and a good friend to Lluch.

“For this show, I found inspiration in those who quietly, selflessly, and tirelessly work in the pursuit of truth and justice for the poor, helpless, downtrodden victims of violence and impunity, who truly love the country, even putting their lives on the line.” Lluch says, breathing life into a seemingly cold and disintegrated human body, still vibrant of resistance against chaos. F