White Love, Love White, re-examines the political history of a nation-state. It suggests the Filipinos’ unending romance with the great American dream.

“Love” evokes emotionally charged feelings, emotions and meanings. Often, it is a cultural capital invoked by people in societies to rationalise their relationships, actions and decisions that are normally perceived as being irrational. And yes, the manifold workings of love may be both be good and bad. The work delves into the idea of love as a gloss-over to the well-known American colonial policy of “benevolent assimilation” during the “forgotten” Philippine-American War (1898-1901). As love both connotes the promise of fulfilment and obligation (Rafael 2000), it is a fitting metaphor to represent the Filipino experience during the American colonial period as well as con-temporary socio-economic and political relations with the US. Borrowing from the mass media and pop-iconography, White Love, Love White, re-examines the political history of a nation-state. The painting illustrates how the elite class were co-opted by the Americans to fulfil their mission of “taming” the barbaric Filipinos, depicted in this picture as the savage (dark-skinned, short, wide-nosed, bare-footed) subjects. The execution of the native “insurgent” by the Filipino collaborator under the watchful eye of an American soldier depicts this co-optation that is still a part of present-day realities of the developing world, as the Philippines. As in all previous administrations of the Philippine Republic, the government’s foreign policy has always been designed to uphold American imperialist interests. This scenario is almost certain to pervade national and regional politics, given that the United States has assumed its role as the sole superpower.

The installation is composed of three elements: the centrepiece banner, while depicting a realistic image from that period, also contains an image of probably the oldest “branded” Philippine product – Liway-way Gawgaw. The inclusion of this icon helps reformulate the old photo into a contemporary advertising medium, making an assertion of a local brand’s identity in the face of globalisation. The two other elements are the two separate words “White” and “Love.” Their positioning has been intended to encourage reading the texts from both ends. Reading it “White Love” therefore suggests the Filipinos’ never ending romance with the great American dream. Liway-way Gawgaw, among its various usages is also a whitening agent, thus reinforcing the metaphor.