{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":50184,"auction_id":99,"set_id":131,"lot_number":"94","artist":"Alfredo Esquillo, Jr. (b. 1972)","title":"Laban Ng Loob (Struggle Within)","starting_price":120000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 2019 (lower right)","medium":"oil and wood (frame)","size":"artwork: 25 1/4\" x 19\" (64 cm x 48 cm) frame: 39 1/4\" x 31\" (100 cm x 79 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":null,"exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"In the Filipino context, loob refers to the ‘inner self.’ However, loob can also pertain to various concepts depending on the inherent value being emphasized. In this piece titled Laban ng Loob, Alfredo Esquillo Jr. depicts a photorealist face surrounded by four clenched fists that are struggling to be liberated from what seems to be images of thorns. Looking at the title, one can discern that Esquillo Jr. tackles contradictions within oneself in this piece. Here, loob is defined within the context of the endless cycle of contradictions and transformation, of learning and unlearning. Esquillo Jr. evokes the laborious practice of criticism and self-criticism, of piercing through the constant power play between opposing forces, i.e., ideas, emotions, needs, and wants. The artist expresses the perpetuity and universality of laban ng loob (struggle within), and one can go across it through tibay ng loob (resilience) and lakas ng loob (inner courage).
Contradictions are constant, and so are our decisions and determination. As Mao Zedong said in his essay On Contradiction, “the law of contradiction in things, that is, the law of the unity of opposites is the fundamental law of nature and of society and therefore also the fundamental law of thought.” (A.M.)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":"
Alfredo Esquillo, Jr. (b. 1972) Laban Ng Loob (Struggle Within) signed and dated 2019 (lower right) oil and wood (frame) artwork: 25 1/4\" x 19\" (64 cm x 48 cm) frame: 39 1/4\" x 31\" (100 cm x 79 cm)