Offerings for Escalante

Offerings for Escalante is an exhibition of new work by the artist duo Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien, building on their long-term research concerning the island of Negros in the Philippines. Occupying a gallery originally built in the 19th century as a trade exchange, the exhibition features an hour-long experimental documentary, a 16mm film animation, drawings on handmade paper, and a light-based installation.

Enzo and Ami have a collaborative practice that addresses forms of resistance within globalised economies of labour, particularly in the context of Southeast Asia. Their recent work has centered on Negros, an island dominated by a plantation-based sugar industry built on the Spanish colonial ‘hacienda’ system and dependent on the monopolistic control of land and the exploitation of seasonal labour. This industry emerged in the mid-19th Century, driven by a Glasgow-based company seeking to import Scottish textiles to the Philippines and export cheap sugar.

Offerings for Escalante is an act of remembrance, focusing on the 1985 Escalante Massacre, a horrific episode of state violence against protesting farm workers in Negros during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos (1972-1986). Enzo and Ami interweave testimonials, organic materials and iconographies from Negros to shed light on the significance of collective mourning in the fight for food sovereignty and land justice. The artists see the exhibition as a source for collaboration and alliance-building across global land and labour struggles.