Arts & Leisure
Posted on February 09, 2016 08:33:00 PM
BY NICKKY FAUSTINE P. DE GUZMAN
The humans of Makati through a photographer’s lens
EVER since the New York Times and CNN picked up her story as a Hong Kong-based domestic helper-turned-photographer two years ago, Xyza Cruz Bacani has been doing photo exhibits around the globe. But not in the Philippines. As a sort of homecoming, Ms. Bacani, armed with her camera, returns to the country to showcase her first ever local exhibit called Humans of Makati, a photo-documentary on view at the Ayala Triangle Gardens until Feb. 12.
“We want to highlight and emphasize the diversity in Makati that it’s not just about the big businesses, but it’s also about the people -- the souls of a city -- who make it interesting,” said Makati Project Development Manager Sheila Aguila.
Home to over 500,000 people and the preferred business and entertainment address, the stories of Makati are varied and vivid. From 80 random shots of people from all walks of life -- taxi driver, security guard, call center agent, artist, student, businessman, and takatak boy (cigarette vendor) -- Ms. Bacani narrowed them down to 32 photos to come up with a story line, highlighting people’s dreams and aspirations.
“Even if the photos are different and the people are strangers to each other, their stories are somewhat interwoven. There’s a narrative in between the photographs,” Ms. Bacani told BusinessWorld.
Known for her black and white candid shots of random strangers, her photo exhibit deviates from her comfort zone: they are colored.
“It’s challenging because colored photos are not my forte. I have to be sensitive with the composition and the lighting,” she said.
Said she had to roam the streets of Makati for two weeks. In the exhibit, one will notice that some subjects, students and vendors, came up more than once in her photographs. “There may be repetitions [in terms of profession], but their stories are different,” she said in mixed Filipino and English.
While the exhibit champions stories of ordinary people, Ms. Bacani also included some prominent subjects like the four-time junior golf world champion Jed Dy; WheninManila website founder Vince Golangco; and Ayala Corporation Associate Mariana Zobel, among many others.
Ms. Bacani’s life story is as interesting as her subjects. Working as a domestic helper abroad for more than a decade has opened her eyes to the wicked ways of the world including human rights violation and discrimination.
Although her employer didn’t abuse her, she told this writer that photography is her way of escape.
Ms. Bacani, who was one of the awardees at the 2015 BBC 100 Women of the World, and was short-listed for the 2016 Forbes List’s 30 under 30, said her mission is to document the lives and plight of overseas Filipino workers who are trapped in difficult circumstances.
“Photography is a universal language -- the language of freedom and equality. In photography, there’s no gender, there’s no age, there’s no social status, color, or race. We speak one language, and nothing of those stereotypes.” -- Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
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