If the Walls Can Talk

December 12, 2024 – January 10, 2025
First United Building
Escolta Street, Manila

Walls form the foundation of our homes and buildings. They are silent witnesses to the lives lived within and beyond them. These structures have evolved alongside human civilization; have offered protection, shelter, and a sense of permanence in an ever-changing world. But they also hold stories—of growth and decline, creation and destruction—that reflect the shifting landscapes they inhabit.

According to a 2021 report by Karol Ilagan from the Pulitzer Center, the Philippines was once covered by lush forests, which made up over 90% of the country’s land area before colonial rule. Over time, population growth and land use changes led to a sharp decline in forest cover. By the end of American rule, forests had already shrunk significantly, and the loss accelerated during Martial Law. Despite ongoing efforts to restore the forests, they still cover less than seven million hectares today.

The dwindling forests tell a larger story of urbanization and industrialization as cities expand and consume spaces once populated by flora and fauna. This narrative resonates strongly with the First United Building in Manila, a heritage structure in a city where the push for progress often clashes with the remnants of the past. Within and outside its walls, we are reminded of the tensions between preservation and transformation, the natural and the constructed, and the lives that intersect these realms.

In this exhibit, artists Eunice Sanchez, Kookoo Ramos-Cruda, and Resty Flores tell stories confronting nature and humanity, inspired by reports from the Pulitzer Center. Eunice Sanchez reflects on the sustainability of the Masungi Georeserve in Rizal, a 20-year reclamation of deforested land, and its capacity to inspire broader environmental action. Kookoo Ramos-Cruda turns our attention to the waterways of Rio Tuba in Palawan, where nickel mining limits access to clean water, inviting reflection on the unequal realities of water scarcity. Lastly, Resty Flores sheds light on the plight of Indigenous Peoples affected by the Mining Act of 1995 as he bares their deep-rooted connection to the land and the dislocation they face when stripped of it.

If walls can talk, they would speak of resilience and loss, of human ambition and its cost. And within these conversations, they invite us to listen, and with hope—act, even in small ways.

Text by Lk Rigor

Poster by Shara Francisco

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