Based on archival newspaper images of protests that occurred in Manila in the 1970s, Erased Slogans is a series of photographs that are at once deeply rooted in time and carry a sense of timelessness. The images speak to a formative moment of social action and turmoil in the Philippines during the authoritarian Marcos regime (1965–1986), just before Marcos’s declaration of martial law in 1972, as well as to Dalena’s own stance as a human-rights activist. However, the artist’s digital removal of the slogans from the placards wipes away the messaging and leaves behind only a blank white surface, a void which alludes to voices of dissent that have been silenced as well as to the myriad forms of protest that continue today, even if not always articulated in words.
In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections. M+ Pavilion, Hong Kong, 22 June–30 September 2018