Mall Culture
signed and dated 1997 (lower right)
mixed media
36” x 24” (92 cm x 61 cm)

Provenance:
Hiraya Gallery

Alfredo Esquillo Jr. has come to be known for his keen eye for detail, and his tableaux of Philippine social life that feature his surreal take on the ironies and contradictions present thereabout. His art plays on themes from the religious to the socio-cultural, shedding light on the ills borne of Filipino tradition and the like.

Esquillo’s clever use of thematic elements makes for a very comedic and scrutinizing dialect. Very deliberate with his intent, Esquillo puts into visual commentary the paradoxical ideologies that trouble him — as in this piece, the escapist nature of the favorite Filipino getaway known as the mall.

This work from 1997 blatantly and humorously depicts the veryconsumerism that has engulfed the masses. The piece alludes to the fallacious and the ironic, as “SHOP TILL YOU DROP” is engraved opposite to a much finer “WHILE SUPPLY LASTS”. Subliminally laid into the composition is a hint of reality, manifested in the smoggy, congested cityscape that is neglected due to the alluring fantasy of ‘Mall Life’.

A brilliant interplay of simple themes of depth, Esquillo executes the work masterfully — more so with his implied, subliminal context.