{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":26562,"auction_id":31,"set_id":52,"lot_number":"130","artist":"Miguel Paulo Borja (b. 1987)","title":"Gara Na Ka XX XX (Diptych)","starting_price":300000,"signed_dated":"2020","medium":"oil on canvas","size":"48” x 168” (122 cm x 427 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":null,"exhibited":"ALT Philippines 2020, Vinyl on Vinyl, SMX Convention Center, SM Aura Premier, February 14-16, 2020","literature":null,"write_up":"Pablo Picasso’s Guernica (1937) serves as inspiration behind Miguel Paulo Borja’s recent 2020 work, Gara Na Ka XX XX, a monochromatic diptych that unfolds multiple layers surrounding the worldwide pandemic. Painted in response to the bombing of Guernica, Spain, by Nazi Germany in 1937, Picasso’s Guernica was regarded as one of the most stirring anti-war paintings, capturing human suffering and chaos. Borja painted a modern adaptation of Picasso’s masterpiece in which the process becomes an act of expressing his sentiments toward current circumstances such as an ongoing pandemic. <br /><br />The phrase “Gara na ka” is a Visayan phrase which translates as “You are being stubborn” or “Pasaway ka na” in Tagalog. This striking monumental piece reflects both carelessness and stubbornness of individuals, from world leaders to citizens, in these unsettling times. Conveying his own take on Picasso’s subjects, Borja is able to present his own observations of the present contextualized from a socio-political perspective. <br /><br />The Roman letters “XX XX” serve no other than an indicator of the year 2020. Borja leans on symbolisms to illustrate how he witnessed the year. A composition of bodies and arms dominates the painting as he remembers how the year started: with the scare of World War III. Little did we know that other fears followed, particularly with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, depicted by the crown placed above the headless figure in the first panel. The crown itself serves as an allegory of how the coronavirus is affecting the courses of lives. At the center of the second panel are two figures embracing each other, inspired by a photograph of American basketball star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi Bryant, who both passed away in a tragic accident in the beginning of the year. Next to their portraits is a white horse engulfed in flames—a symbol of death. Behind the spectacular composition of forms and tones in this painting by Borja lies a mirror of the realities in which we are part of, a reflection on the unfortunate events that have shaped our times. As Picasso said: “Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.”<br /><br /> Miguel Paulo Borja is a young painter from Manilla. His strong identity—reflected through the subject matters and quality in his artistic process—makes him one of the most provocative voices in the region. Borja has had six solo exhibitions and has shown his work internationally, including in Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and the UK","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":null,"hp":600000,"bp":0.168,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":600000,"userBid":8497,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":null,"hammer_price":700800,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":23967,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/31/52/lot/130.jpg","isFeatured":1}]},"increment":[450000,500000,550000,600000,650000,700000,750000,800000,900000,1000000,1100000,1200000,1300000,1400000,1500000,1600000,1700000,1800000,1900000,2000000,2200000,2400000,2600000,2800000,3000000,3200000,3400000,3600000,3800000,4000000,4200000,4400000,4600000,4800000,5000000,5500000,6000000,6500000,7000000,7500000,8000000,8500000,9000000,9500000,10000000,11000000,12000000,13000000,14000000,15000000,16000000,17000000,18000000,19000000,20000000],"prev":129,"next":131,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}