National Artist Kidlat Tahimik's exhibit 'INDIO-GENIUS: 500 Taon ng Labanang Kultural' opens at the National Museum

National Artist Kidlat Tahimik's “INDIO-GENIUS: 500 Taon ng Labanang Kultural (1521-2021)” has opened at the National Museum of Anthropology.

It is something of a homecoming edition of Tahimik's recently concluded historical exhibition that ran in Madrid's Retiro Park from October 2021 to March 2022.

"INDIO-GENIUS" features  previous works and objects collected throughout the years — from artworks at his Ili-Likha Artist Village in Baguio to creations that were displayed in his 2019 exhibition "Ang Ma-bagyang Sabungan ng 2 Bathala ng Hangin" to impressive large-scale installations at Madrid's Retiro park.

The term "Indio-Genius" came from Tahimik's Ifugao mentor Lopes Na-Uyac, who pronounces "indigenous," by dividing the word into two syllables, indie-genous.

The ever-so-playful Tahimik turned it into "indio-genious" this time referring to the innate brilliance of the Filipino indigenous communities.

On Facebook, National Museum wrote, "Tulad ng kanyang mga pelikula at obra, muli niyang hinahamon ang neokolonyalismo sa Pilipinas sa eksibisyong ito na pumukaw ng interes ng mahigit 500,000 bisita sa Palacio de Cristal del Retiro sa Madrid mula Oktubre 2021 hanggang Marso 2022."

— LA, GMA News