Shouting in silence: The metamorphosis of Rosscapili

The artist's 'Travelogue Retrospection' celebrates the beauty of transformation, reflecting on art, violence, and vulnerability

- BY HANNAH JO UY

'COEXISTENCE,' acrylic mixed media, 2000-2010

Rosscapili has established himself as a formidable presence in contemporary Philippine art, a veteran painter whose works have traveled from Manila to New York.

Yet much like one can admire a butterfly without witnessing the violence of its transformation, the world can see the accolades of an artist, but rarely the cost of his becoming.

Ross' story begins in 1969, with oil. No, not the painter's kind. As a Grade 5 student in Tondo, he cleaned jeepneys for his allowance, hands slick with motor oil. "The streets where I was born became my workplace, and the oil was my final touch on the steel floors of Sarao jeepneys," he shares.