While the exhibition is titled ‘Peacocking on a Sunday,’ it’s easy to notice that there are only two paintings with peacocks on them. Anglo-Dizon chose to focus on the things that she and the people around her love. “I could’ve devoted a show to peacocks, but I think there are more stories to tell,” she says. For instance, various pop culture references can be seen in ‘Tropical Shower’ and ‘Hunting by Candlelight.’ A solitary Pokemon sits atop a cloud while a pixelated iron shovel from Minecraft is positioned on the bottom right of her favourite painting. Some flames and the moon are also pixelated in the other vase painting with a small illustration of the nine-tailed fox from Naruto joining the ensemble of exotic animals on the vase. Her other paintings also sport sticker-like paintings of a star, lightning bolt and flowers—a homage to Olivia Rodrigo who recently had a concert in the Philippines. “I had to paint stickers on my daughter’s face for the concert because the star sticker we had wouldn’t stick to her face,” she shared while laughing.
All these references, while seemingly there to add a touch of whimsy to her work commemorate her daughter’s hobbies and passions while relating to the rest of her work and bringing an even bigger topic to light—the human vice of exoticising animals. “My kids love Minecraft and Pokemon… Maybe someday Philippine eagles or Asian tigers will be extinct and only exist in video games,” shares Anglo-Dizon.
Peacocking on a Sunday by Tracie Anglo Dizon runs until October 29 at Art Verité Gallery in BGC, Taguig.
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