No debates needed: the Philippines is a tropical paradise. The country’s white sand beaches, turquoise waters, and rich underwater marine resources have attracted both local and foreign visitors to its shores.
But while its beauty seems timeless, the reality is that it is not immune to social, economic, and environmental issues. This is what the Bantayan-born artist, Martha Atienza, seeks to amplify in her reimagined Filipino prusisyon video, which is screening on the Times Square billboard for the entire month of July.
Martha Atienza’s Our Islands, 11°16’58.4”N 123°45’07.0”E
Starting July 2, the largest public platform for contemporary performance and visual arts, Times Square Arts, will be taken over by Filipina artist Martha Atienza with her video titled Our Islands, 11°16’58.4” N 123°45’07.0” E. For the Midnight Moment Summer Season—an exhibit of artworks displayed across over 95 electronic billboards in Times Square every night from 11:57 PM to midnight—the spectacular moving images of underwater scenes taken in Bantayan Island will be showcased for three minutes each night throughout July.
Atienza, who is part Dutch, currently lives and works in Bantayan, Philippines. She has been the subject of several solo exhibitions, including Passage in Het Torentje, Almelo, Netherlands (2006), Martha Atienza in Mind Set Art Center in Taipei, Taiwan (2017), and The Prosecutors in Silverlens, New York (2022).
Knowing the rigorous screening process to be selected by Times Square Arts—with participating artists meticulously chosen by a committee composed of Times Square Arts staff, Times Square billboard operators, and administrators in various creative disciplines, including design, public art, and video art—it was definitely a win for Our Islands to have been chosen.
As per Atienza: “It is an exciting chance to bring this piece to a global audience in a unique setting. I want to take this opportunity to amplify urgent environmental and social challenges faced on our island home of Bantayan and the Philippines. This brief, powerful moment brings attention around the complexities of climate change, while underscoring the intersection between environmental and cultural loss and resiliency.”
While the nightly public streaming only covers no more than three minutes of the actual 72-minute film, it captures an underwater procession staged by divers acting out scenes with costumes depicting important figures in the Philippines—from Roman centurions to Santo Niño to Manny Pacquiao, Yolanda survivors, and presumed drug users wearing tags like “Drug Lord ako, wag tularan” being chased by armed men. The Cebuana artist believes that the message conveyed by this moving diorama amplifies the unheard voices of those affected by these issues.
In 2017, the film won the Baloise Art Prize at Art Basel. In 2022, it was acquired by the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi. This masterpiece has been exhibited in Asia, Australia, and Europe. You may view a free version of the video here.
In this digital era where everyone is already armed with cameras, taking numerous videos mostly to create reels on social media platforms, Martha exemplifies that there is more to what the lens can capture—one that can amplify calls to action on real concerns about the environment and society. Her work is a testament to the power of art in highlighting crucial issues and inspiring a global audience to reflect and act. It serves as a reminder that even in the age of social media, art can transcend the superficial and spark meaningful change.
