Cris Mora - The New New Society: Ang Bagong Bagong Lipunan

×

Expand

Cris Mora, "Book Challenge", 2022

Image courtesy of the artist.

The New Gallery is pleased to present The New New Society: Ang Bagong Bagong Lipunan by Cris Mora at The New Gallery Main Space.

Opening Reception // September 16, 7PM to 9PM

Canada has long been a site of migration for Filipinos. You will find Filipinos working across the country in every industry. These Overseas Foreign Workers (OFWs) are separated from family for years while supporting dozens of people back in the Philippines. Their remittances account for nearly 10% of the GDP of the Philippine economy in 2019.

Sadly, OFWs are leaving for the same reasons today as the previous generations did decades earlier. Those that left during the Marcos dictatorship of the seventies and eighties have seen the cycle of corruption, poverty and state sponsored violence repeat itself through successive administrations. The process has come full circle with the election of Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr., the son of the late dictator, as the 17th President of the Philippines in 2022. Thirty-six years after his father was ousted from power, the younger Marcos threatens to correct the wrongs of the history books that “are teaching the children lies.”

This exhibition is an exploration of the fragility of history and the dangers that come when it is made malleable. Through video, photography and installation, Mora investigates how the situation got to this point and what it may mean for the future of the Philippines, as well as the impact on those who have been forced to leave.