The Philippine Embassy wishes to encourage the Filipino community in Canberra, including their friends, to visit the exhibition entitled Beyond the Self, which runs at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) from 13 August – 6 November 2011.  The works of three Filipino artists, namely Alfredo Esquillo Jr, Jose Legaspi and Alwin Reamillo, are included in the exhibition.  According to the NPG, the exhibition “examines the representation of the self in current South and Southeast Asian art practice” through “painting, photography, sculpture, drawing and media works created from the early 2000s to the present.”

During the official opening night on 12 August 2011, Philippine Embassy officials had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Reamillo, whose work, “And Retabla Rizalista (Relikaryo ni Arnulfo Tikb-ang),” is most apposite in this year of the 150^th birth anniversary of Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal.  Verbally as well as visually articulate, Mr. Reamillo expounds on his art, Rizal and Philippine society in a video interview available at the NPG website.

For more information on the exhibition, including essays on the featured artists and their works, please go to www.portrait.gov.au/site/exhibition_subsite_beyondtheself.php#start.