Artist Statement

This long-term photo documentary project, Dark Memories: Remembering the Victim-Survivors of Martial Law that I started in 2011 is to put faces to the victims of Martial Law and to recognize their sacrifices under the Marcos Dictatorship.

Those who were tortured, incarcerated, disappeared, and died during Martial Law contributed so much to ending the dictatorship. Their sacrifices allowed us to live without fear of raising our voices to protect our civil liberties, denounce violations of Human Rights, and fight for a just, honest, and efficient government policy that benefits the majority of our people.

It is important to remember their sacrifices not only during this period of our nation's history but also as a lesson for future generations of Filipinos to stop any threat to curtail our civil liberties and stop any attempt for another imposition of Martial Law.

Many thanks for allowing me to put faces to your names and to remember your sacrifices. We must not forget the honorable deeds you made for our Inang Bayan.

Taos pusong nagpupugay sa inyong lahat.

Methodology

Dark Memories: Remembering the Victim-Survivors of Martial Law may be considered as part of an ongoing curatorial quest for transformation and complete reparations for the human rights violation victims during the Martial Law regime of Ferdinand Marcos. The challenge, almost always, lies in the promotion of a more emphatic understanding of victimhood that words fail to sufficiently express and represent.

In an effort to present factual content to complement the starkly compelling black-and-white portraits by Rick Rocamora, each name was verified with the Roll of Victims created by the Human Rights Violations Victims' Memorial Commission (https://hrvvmemcom.gov.ph) under RA 10368. Moreover, consultation with the victim-survivors of Martial Law was conducted with the help of the HRVVMC.

Truth, as an integral part of justice, is not only a factual recounting of events but the understanding of these truths and the consequences for those who hold them. We, therefore, enjoin the viewers to dig deeper, go beyond these names and faces, and know their stories.

Project Description

In line with the UPD Arts and Culture Festival 2022, kaMALAYAn: Pamana ng GomBurza @150, we revisit and reflect on kamalayang Pilipino (Filipino consciousness) and its extent through the ideas of alay, maláy, and laya, derivatives of the word kamalayan, in the context of heroic sacrifice for freedom.

In Dark Memories: Remembering the Victim-Survivors of Martial Law, a photo documentary exhibit by Rick Rocamora, we choose to view the Martial Law human rights violation victims as heroes, as GomBurZa 150 years ago, whose documented sufferings ignited in the consciousness of fellow Filipinos, an aspiration for freedom fueled by the love of country.

To those who disappeared, were detained, tortured, and executed in the name of freedom from the dark Martial Law regime, honor and gratitude.

Photos by: Mac Omega

Acknowledgements