Martha Atienza
Our Islands 11°17’19.6”N 123°43’12.5”E, 2016
Our islands 11°17’19.6”N 123°43’12.5”E is part of a long term, ongoing series of projects by Atienza in her hometown on Bantayan Island, a small fishing community in the centre of the Philippines. These projects explore art’s potential to engage communities in collectively tackling social, economic and environmental issues.
The video images are of an underwater procession. Inspired by the Ati-atihan festival, a Christianised animistic festival, all members of the community join in the procession. Ati-atihan means to be like Aetas, an indigenous group predating the Austronesian migrations some 30,000 years ago. Provoked by current events – super typhoons, Manny Pacquiao, the Papal visit, labour migration – participants assume other personas. Inspired by ancestors, they are powerful, god-like, mad.
Courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.
Biography
Martha Atienza (1981, Manila) lives and works in Bantayan Island in the Philippines. Her creative practice is rooted in her ecological and cultural concerns, as she studies the intricate interplay between local traditions, human subjectivity, society, and the environment.
Atienza’s multicultural upbringing has shaped her artistic focus, which is primarily expressed through installation and video art as a means of documenting and questioning pressing issues in her direct environment, often taking on an almost sociological nature. Her work testifies to her commitment to art as a medium for social engagement and dialogue.
Atienza’s work has gained international recognition with her piece Our Islands earning her the Baloise Art Prize at Art Basel in 2017. She has also been awarded the Ateneo Art Awards in Manila in 2012 and 2016, as well as the Cultural Center of the Philippines Thirteen Artist Award in 2015. Her work has been exhibited globally, such as the Istanbul Biennial, Bangkok Art Biennale, Honolulu Biennial, and Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. In 2022, her solo exhibition, The Protectors, inaugurated Silverlens New York.
