We would like to explain here Ronald Ventura’s Untitled (Crucifixion), 2021.

This painting features the figure of Christ undergoing crucifixion, a typical subject in Western religious paintings. Around Christ are an astronaut with wings instead of an angel, the skeletons of a dinosaur or a monkey, a character of a monkey with a banana drawn with simple cartoonish lines, and a stylized tree. Greek architectural columns are arranged.

Ventura cleverly incorporated aspects of modern society into the style of classical religious paintings, giving the iconography a different meaning. The subject of classical painting, eternal piety, is given a different meaning here, presented as one of the various symbols of modern society.

In the Philippines, nearly 90 percent of the population is Catholic. The Philippines has a history of being occupied by Spain, the United States, and Japan, and their minds actually seem to be somehow complicated. Accepting and mixing various cultures is a part of its history, and Ventura portrays the “Filipino” traits of “service-mindedness and hospitality” with a critical spirit in this work.

Ronald Ventura, Untitled 2021, Oil on canvas　304.8×213.4㎝