Rolly (Cocojam)
signed and dated 1995 (lower right)
charcoal and pastel on paper
30" x 22" (76 cm x 56 cm)
Accompanied by a certificate issued by Galleria Duemila, Inc.confirming the authenticity of this lot

EXHIBITED:The Crucible Art Gallery, Bencab's Rock Sessions,Mandaluyong City, November 7 - 20, 1995
LITERATURE:Caruncho, Eric S. Bencab's Rock Sessions. Pasig: The CrucibleWorkshop, 1995. Full-color illustration on page 40, withphoto caption on page 41
The Rock Sessions By BencabIn November 1995, Benedicto Cabrera held a solo exhibition at The Crucible Gallery in SM Megamall titled Bencab's Rock Sessions. The show featured pastel portraits of Filipino contemporary rock musicians. The exhibition's title was inspired by the popular Baguio watering hole where Bencab's artist-friends and rock musicians reveled in music and art. Bencab's Rock Sessions was the sequel to the artist's 1981 show at the CCP Small Gallery titled Punk, which featured portraits of musicians who dominated London's punk rock landscape. Veering away from his Larawan works, Bencab draws from life in his Rock Sessions. In an interview with Eric Caruncho, who authored the 1995 book of the same name, Bencab reveals: 'I like drawing from life. I don't like drawing from photographs." Works from the Rock Sessions were created within the span of a year, with the subjects posing in Bencab's dwelling place at the historic Syquia apartment in Malate. Among the legendary Filipino musicians Bencab depicted in those works was Rolando "Rolly" Maligad, the main vocalist of the Pinoy reggae/rock band Cocojam. In this piece, Bencab shows Maligad's signature, Bob Marley-inspired dreadlocks. Interestingly, Maligad also looked and sounded like Marley, his foremost musical luminary, in real life. Bencab portrays Maligad in the act of strumming his guitar. Perhaps one can imagine him playing one of his band's original songs, creating new music, or just leisurely singing along to one of Marley's hits. Influenced by Marley's sublime songwriting, Maligad wrote Cocojam's original songs, such as "Lakambini," "Ulap," "Ang Pagbabago," and "Lasenggo." Maligad also wrote for other OPM artists, such as blues singer Binky Lampano, Asin frontwoman Lolita Carbon, and rock band 6Cyclemind. Cocojam is celebrated as a pioneering Filipino reggae band. They dominated the Philippine reggae music scene from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, performing in numerous venues, such as Mayric's along España Boulevard and Kalye Bar and Restaurant in Legazpi Village, Makati. Cocojam also played alongside fellow music legends Carbon and Joey 'Pepe' Smith on various occasions. Their 1992 album, 'Lakambini' earned the band a nomination for 'Best New Recording Group' at the 1992 Awit Awards. Through this work, Bencab immortalizes the man whose musical legacy profoundly contributed to the flourishing of reggae music in the country and imbibing it with a distinct Filipino quality. (A.M.)