An MFA Thesis Project: Making a Mark at the PHS

Asite-specific sculptural installation entitled, “Via Crucis: A Synecdochal Rendition of the Way of the Cross,” is now on display at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice in UP Diliman. This installative art is a thesis project for the Master of Fine Arts degree (UP CFA) of Ms. Maria Laura V. Ginoy, head of the Art and Desktop section of NISMED. The work features the new version of the 14 Stations of the Cross using hand-casts as primary image, which according to Ginoy is a synecdochal representation “part for the whole and whole for the part.” She added that “the hands represent the whole body or the corpus, which in Christian tradition is the vessel of the Holy Spirit. The representation is indexical because the sculptures were cast from the hands of selected parishioners in the UP community, the church being as much the community of worshipers as it is the edifice.” Since the parishioners are part of the church, the models for the hand sculptures were various people representing different sectors of the UP community.

Ms. Maria Laura Ginoy (left) with her panelist, Dean
Nestor Vinluan, during her Academic Exercise.

In the abstract, Ms. Ginoy wrote: "The various narrative possibilities of gestures and expressive representation of hands are explored in order to articulate each of the micro-narratives, with each vignette intended to be haptic and tactile. In this way, accessibility will not only be a matter of contemplating forms in space but also a matter of embodied experience, which transposes liturgical practice into a more personal and intimate encounter.”

The Via Crucis' 14 Stations of the Cross

Regardless of how anyone would consider the liturgical art, the sculptures invite the public to touch them during their personal devotion and encounter with the Lord. As it now becomes a permanent landmark at the chapel, this art would surely become an indelible image in the UP community. This work was previously featured by the ABS-CBN News in 02 April 2015. Click the link below for the complete feature article.