Sa Pula, Sa Puti, the current exhibition of Kalye Kolektib, extends the discourse that was started in the artist group’s previous collaborative project Ang Babae at Ang Dragon which they began working on in 2016, then finally exhibited in 2017. That exhibition from almost 4 years ago held a prophetic tone as it pertained to the looming threat of the Chinese government’s invasion of the West Philippine Sea. That time, the threat seemed distant or “off shore” literally and figuratively. Recent developments, however, seem to indicate that the prophecy is unfolding. What was before an off shore red menace has now crossed our boundaries, posing threats even in the micro levels of our society. It is in this sense of immediacy that Kalye Kolektib felt compelled to revisit and continue the discourse once again

While the territorial dispute between the two states has been ongoing for some time now, the days before the drastic escalation saw the underhanded threats the Chinese government was imposing upon the Philippines.

Today, the threat is more palpable than ever, so much so that its shadow looms over our own front yard, infiltrating even the smallest aspects of our people’s way of life. China’s aggression has rapidly escalated; made evident firstly, by their burgeoning military presence in the West Philippine Sea; and secondly, by their undeniable influence in different sectors in the philippine government and economy.

At this point, the task of facing this threat is upon us, the people, individually and in different facets of our lives. We are called upon to defend our homes - our personal territories, our boundaries, our safe spaces. In this exhibition Sa Pula, Sa Puti, we now, as a collective, have become the embodiment of the woman cloaked with the sun, ready to defend what is rightfully ours.

 -Arvi Fetalvero