We are a people of mixed, often confused,
culture. For centuries, we have been colonized by different nations that have
left lasting imprints on our cultural identity. While all erstwhile foreign
influences (including present Western aspirations brought about by Hollywood and
other first-world inspirations) have contributed to our varied traditions, rich
language and our “global competency,” they have also alienated generations of
our people from what is distinctively Filipino.
Defining what is truly Filipino proves to
be daunting to most people these days, but not to someone like Gilbert Bergano
Alberto, who has kept a strong affinity to his intrinsic roots. An Igorot sculptor
from Hungduan, Ifugao province, Alberto believes that the first step to being
proud of who you are is knowing where you came from.
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| Gilbert Bergano Alberto stands beside his artwork |
“It is very important that we do not lose
touch of who we are as a people because our culture and our values depend on
our true understanding of ourselves,” Alberto explained in Tagalog. “As an
artist, my culture is my biggest advantage. It is my tool and inspiration in
all my artworks.”
Driven by his unwavering pride for his Ifugao
roots, Alberto has earned international recognition for his
sculptures. He bagged the Silver Award (Jury Prize) and the Prix du Public
(Audience Choice Award) at the 10th International Sculpture Symposium held in
Morges, Geneva, Switzerland in 2011 – the first time that a single artwork won
in two categories in the international stone sculpture competition.
Alberto was one of 30 artists from 20
different counties who participated in the prestigious event. For eight days
throughout the competition, all contestants individually worked on
uniform-sized limestone blocks that weighed around 300 kilos each. With barely
four carving tools at hand, Alberto finished his “An Old Man with a Gong
Playing the Sounds of Wisdom” sculpture, which earned the most jury and
audience votes and the top two prizes in the competition.
The Geneva event was not the first time
that Alberto’s artworks gained international exposure. He was the Philippine
representative in the 2nd Delphic International Sculptors Camp held in Kuching,
Sarawak, Malaysia in 2005. He is now planning a major project in Baguio City,
where is presently based, and it is bound to place the Filipino’s outstanding sculpting
talent and artistry on world record.
Alberto has always had a penchant for
chronicling Philippine history through his artworks. In fact, what stands as an
eye-catching masterpiece amidst the lush garden of The Manor in Camp John Hay,
Baguio is a result of his month-long labor of carving historical images out of a
dead pine tree.
A work of art he now calls “The Rose of No
Man’s Land” (after the poetic song of the same title which was dedicated to the
gallant Red Cross nurses at the front lines of war), the tree sculpture
features the images of former Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon, former
American president Abraham Lincoln, figures representing the Fil-Am Friendship
and the surrender of Yamashita, a nurse with her patient, and a fighter jet with
dropped missiles at the top.
“When The Manor contacted me for the
project, they showed me the dead tree and asked me if I could do something with
it. They gave me the go when I showed them the sketches I made of the images I
planned to carve out of the tree.
“I wanted to honor the brave nurses of war
in this art piece because they contributed so much and sacrificed their lives
to save battle casualties, but they are hardly mentioned in history. By looking
at my tree sculpture, you will see an important chapter in Philippine history.”