Both brothers are adept with the paintbrush and the chisel but for this exhibition, Tyrone opted to work exclusively with sculpture while Orland chose to explore two mediums in his body of works. Their works can be divided into (borrowing a line from a biblical passage) what is and what is to come. For what is, Orland’s paintings titled Hapis and Hignaw makes use of the familiar image of the sacred heart of Jesus which is a flaming heart pierced by a crown of thorns. In Orland’s interpretation, however, this represents the heart of the believer that grows weary when it’s far from the grace of God but becomes resilient when it is filled with God’s grace even amidst trials and tribulations. With Tyrone, on the other hand, the What is is embodied in most of his pieces as in dealing with the state of one’s soul or spiritual resolve. examples of which are the sculptures titled Lamam, Kaluluwa, O Espiritu, and Kaloob-looban sa Loobin that are cabinet-like in construction to represent the inward and outward nature of man.

Striding between what is and what is to come is the Devil, the ultimate enemy of God and everything that is good, and is a key character in the narrative that the artists weave. The Devil’s role is elaborated in the painting by Orland titled Hikbi ng Diablo and in the sculpture of Tyrone titled Ang Matandang Dragon. In both works the Devil is a menacing beast waiting to devour the unrepentant.

The pieces which can be categorized under What is to come take inspiration from what can be described as apocalyptic texts, the story of the events by the end of the world and beyond. Tyrone’s piece titled Gog and Magog with its disembodied twisted limbs and gaping mouths tortured by tightly wound chains represent those who are bound for everlasting punishment. The vision of the apocalyptic landscape is depicted in Orland’s largest painting in the exhibition titled Wakas. The scenario is drenched in red, one can almost feel the sharp spikes of the crucifixes contrasted by the writhing tentacles and malevolent beings overwhelming everything. A circular void can be seen on its skies, underscoring the idea that light has left this world, hope is somewhere else, the only thing to do is pray that yours was a life of righteousness and that it is enough to merit a spot in paradise after.

The artists’ visualization of the journey to salvation is bleak, is filled with suffering, and seems unattainable by mere human effort. Of course, theirs is not the complete story. Going back to Christian Philosophy, where there is darkness, there is light. But in this exhibition the Espinosa brothers used to compel their audience to face the fact that suffering will always be there. The question is, do you want it for life, or forever?

-Ioannis Sicuya