Broken Piggy Bank (Basag na Alkansiya)

Widely lauded for his skill in realist painting and social commentary, Alfred Esquillo was part of the generation of painters who came to maturity during the political turmoil of Philippines in the 1990s. His works of this period articulated the frustration of the masses at the inequality of the social hierarchy and uneven distribution of wealth in the country. Basag na Alkansiya or Broken Piggy Bank is a superbly rendered composition discussing the socio-political state of affairs, and a tongue-in-cheek reference to 'pork barrel politics'. Dividing the canvas into three vignettes, Esquillo portrays the piggy bank which represents the national reserves as broken and an empty shell. This financial drain at the upper echelons of policy-making and governance directly impacts the working class folk within the central scene, as they go about their daily lives, with mayoral election posters plastered in the background. At the base of the picture, a corrupt politician - the mayoral candidate - frolicks in the missing cash, gleefully unconcerned about how his thievery may impact his countrymen. Esquillo's tremendous painting skill and keen eye as a social observer is revealed in the details he imparts to his characters: their facial expressions revealing the grind of working class existence; careful rendering of their clothing such as the Mona Lisa print on a woman's shirt in juxtaposition to the Christ figure on the man behind; and other badges of their social status - an upraised cigarette, a handkerchief to block pollution fumes, the wares of street vendors. By contrast, the politician is sheltered from the life of the masses by a high concrete wall cemented with pieces of broken glass. Although created in 1999, Broken Piggy Bank remains deeply relevant to the issues faced within Southeast Asia today.