Nakakita Ako Ng Mga Bituin

Dark clouds were looming overhead, threatening to burst with rain. The weather was obviously less than ideal. However the class of 12–Goldstein braved on through the drizzle, protected by their modern day armour (or in this case, a copious amount of umbrellas and raincoats). As they finally stumbled through the quaint white-walled room, the students eyed the paintings littering the walls with wide-eyed wonder. Their efforts were worth it. The artwork brightened up what would otherwise be a very dreary Thursday.



Pretentious introductions aside, I, along with my class, was privileged enough to be able to visit an art and photo exhibit all over on the other side of campus. Splayed across the walls were all kinds of artworks made by Philippine women. These ranged from watercolour paintings, to wind chimes, to ambiguous sculptures made out of Uratex foam. However, one art installation moved me the most.



The installation consisted of three different boxes with their lids shown. Inside the three boxes were three slightly different portraits of what seemed to be an everyday Filipina woman. Painted on the lids were several images relating to them. What struck me most was the phrase painted on the center lid, "Nakakita ako ng mga bituin," which loosely translates to "I saw the stars."

I don't want to be presumptuous, but I inferred that the quote pertained to the subject of the artwork. I found it beautiful that the person saw the stars in that woman and decided to make it into a masterpiece. We all have our own different interpretations of art and beauty, and I was really touched by the fact that the artist found it in the painted woman. Nangangarap din ako na bakasakali sa isang araw, makakakita rin ako ng mga bituin.