History has already proven that in war, there are no winners. Yet wars continue to wage in our era, prompting questions of why, until today, nations still fight. The Belarusian investigative journalist Svetlana Alexievich writes, “War remains, as it has always been, one of the chief human mysteries.” In this exhibit, Pete Jimenez brings to light some of the hidden motivations behind war, particularly those fought in the Philippines, a nation constantly facing territorial dispute and threat. It reminds us why wars persist despite great loss of lives and cultural heritage.
Hard Rain is an installation of over a hundred vintage bomb shells that have been decommissioned, collected throughout the span of a decade. They were sourced from Nueva Vizcaya and Ifugao Province, where locals would discover spent mortars in the area and sell them to antique pickers and enthusiasts, using the profits for more practical daily needs like food. This secondary economy that emerges from past military actions exemplifies that war does not end in ceasefire; it continues in the form of recycling, art, education, tourism and activism, constantly shaping ways of thinking.
Text by Stephanie Frondoso
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