Street art tribute brightens EDSA flyover

Driving along EDSA during rush hour can be dreary, but splashes of color brighten certain parts of the 23-kilometer long thoroughfare.

 

Those stuck in traffic will at least be able to appreciate new artwork at the EDSA Kalayaan-Buendia flyover, where a mural features the nation's unsung heroes in cheerful portraits covering the once-gray posts.

 

Completed in time for Labor Day, "Mga Haligi ng Kaunlaran (Pillars of Progress)" was created by street artist A.G. Saño.

 

Invited by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to paint the flyover, Saño said the idea was born during a meeting with MMDA Director Josefina Faulan and Engineer Becca Cruz. At the time, they were discussing another mural project in Quezon City called KKK, or Kulayan ng Kalikasan ang Katipunan.

 

A theme for every city

 

For the EDSA mural, MMDA suggested having a theme for every city that EDSA transects. 

 

"Makati, for example, should bear the theme of business and economics. Immediately, what came to mind was the concept of Plato's “The Republic” where all the leaders are on the upper levels of society, whereas the "producers" aka laborers, artisans, etc are all below and must limit themselves to exercising whatever skills they have as given by nature," Saño told GMA News Online.

 

The labor day tribute is a refreshing change in the EDSA landscape — mostly oversized billboards of commercial advertisements. 

 

"Every day we see faces of celebrities, TV personalities, models, politicians, athletes, etc. but behind the success of the products they are endorsing or the success of our economy as a whole, at least for me personally, has to be attributed to the hard work of the everyday man and woman, including the thousands of volunteers and mission workers across the land," Saño said.

 

To come up with the design, Saño gathered portraits of different people from different professions, from factory workers to painters.

 

"Most of the faces in the EDSA mural are people whom I encountered in my travels not just here but also abroad," he said, sharing that her worked as an OFW for about two years.

 

"I have met the hardest working Filipinos during those years and it is just fitting to pay tribute to them. Some of the faces are families of friends. And there is one face that is my own creation," he shared.

 

Working in hot days and nights

 

Together with some 20 volunteers, including the Dolphins Love Freedom crew, Saño painted the mural for what he described as "many punishing hot days and nights." Composed of 26 faces painted on 42 posts, the mural took three weeks to complete, and will, as Saño hopes, make thousands of motorists happy.

 

One of the painters was "Bunsoy," a former Muntinlupa inmate who was introduced to Saño by MMDA.

 

"They discovered him in their prison visits and learned about his incredible skills in visual arts and even in theater and production," said Saño, who took Bunsoy under his wing after his release from jail. "His artworks are above standard and can eventually become world class if he is given more opportunities to hone his artistic skills," he opined.

 

Saño, who took up landscape architecture at the University of the Philippines Diliman, is most known for his dolphin murals, which are intended to raise awareness about cruel dolphin killings.

 

Apart from the dolphin murals, he has done many design murals all over the country, including KKK in Katipunan and a mural at Taal Lake. 

 

Last July, Saño and 150 volunteers from Save Philippines Seas and Dolphins Love Freedom turned the Quezon Avenue underpass into a rainbow-colored underwater wonderland. 

 

Quezon Avenue white-out

 

Unfortunately, the Quezon Avenue mural was painted over, to the surprise and disappointment of Saño and the volunteers. Saño said that the Department of Public Works and Highways was allegedly in charge of the white-out.

 

"Although I am not angry about it, I think it shows how much immature we are as a people when it comes to arts and culture. The team leader could have asked his/her superiors first if the painting is to be covered," said Saño.

 

Later this month, a thousand volunteers, including Saño, will be painting the longest peace mural in the world for "Lakbay para sa Kapayapaan sa EDSA," a project of Asia America Initiative, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Dolphins Love Freedom, MMDA, and other peace advocates.

 

The Labor Day tribute and peace mural are part of MMDA's EDSA beautification project. According to Saño, the completed mural will be almost four kilometers in total. 

 

Saño shared that he Santolan wall will be painted with a mural featuring Pinoy values and traditions.

 

"Ang concept kasi is 'yung mga everyday na good deeds ang magbigay ng real strong foundation for peace. So mga eksenang pang araw-araw. As simple as jeepney drivers giving way to pedestrians," said Saño, who is still looking for artists who wish to contribute a design for the Santolan wall. 

 

Submissions should depict scenes of peace and love, which Saño will put together in time for the deadline for the design, which is on the evening of May 14. The mural will be two to three meters high, and 1.4 kilometers long.

 

"The more the merrier," Saño said.

 

"Tuwing napapadaan kasi ako sa Santolan side ng Camp Aguinaldo, laging may bagong graffiti. Usually hindi tapos kasi baka may nanghuhuli," said Saño, who wondered if they might be allowed to paint freely. 

 

"Ayun, pumayag ang AFP... binigay pa lahat pati EDSA and White Plains... Sabi nga ni Joey Ayala: 'ang mga dakilang gawa nagmumula sa guniguni. . .'" Saño said. —KDM, GMA News

Photos by Jan Michael Bundoc