Photo Courtesy of Martiallaw.PH
Malaya Portland and Bayan Oregon is hosting the Golden Years Weighing Philippine Martial Law 1972-1981 in Portland, OR at the Propulsion Zone from July 24 until August 21. The exhibition includes photographs on the Philippines that appeared in U.S. newspapers in the 1960s-1980s, curated by Victor Barnuevo Velasco. It is organized to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Philippine martial law, which was declared by the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos on September 21, 1972. The show’s title is an ironic take on how the Marcos family labeled their rule as the “golden age of Philippine economy and society.” By juxtaposing this claim with visual documentation of their ear, the show examines the malleability of perception, the elasticity of reality, and the vulnerabilities of individual and national memory.
The exhibit likewise underscores the role of the foreign press in documenting and examining history as it unfolds. First published in the U.S. papers, the photographs on display are source documents, detached from the influence and intervention of their subjects. Victor Barnuevo Velasco, curator, notes that “the photos are snapshots of history as they happen. The distance of the publication from the site of the events provided objectivity that normally comes only with the passage of time.”
You can view the virtual exhibit on Martial Law PH’s website