2003 / Stainless steel, domestic objects, video / Artists: Alfredo Juan and Isabel Aquilizan

Project M201: In God We Trust was exhibited as part of the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003. The artistic director Francesco Bonami conceived of an “exhibition of exhibitions” in Dreams and Conflicts: The Viewer’s Dictatorship, where each of the invited curators helmed a thematic exhibition. The curator Hou Hanru conceptualized Zone of Urgency (Z.O.U.) for the Arsenale section of the Venice Biennale, in which Alfredo Juan and Isabel Aquilizan also participated. Along with 40 international artists, the multidisciplinary projects in Z.O.U. reflected on “contemporary trends that transform the city into divided zones of war, where urgency is at the core of all activities” (Camiz 2015).

Alfredo Juan and Isabel’s project for the Venice Biennale extends their practice of gathering resources from the community and engaging them through a collaborative production. For Project M201, they collaborated with contemporary artists, manufacturers, and a designer. The Aquilizans’ work process is shaped by their experience as migrant artists who come from a country accustomed to “making do” as a strategy for survival. Rooted in their personal experience of tending to five children and moving across borders and time zones, their works involve assembling together mundane and accessible objects that elicit personal memory and nostalgia. For Z.O.U., the Aquilizans deeply probe the personal as well as complex issues alluding to armed conflict and colonial pasts, nationhood and identity, as well as processes of cultural appropriation and transformation. The declarative “In God We Trust” evokes the practice of emblazoning biblical passages in jeepney decoration, a popular expression of religiosity that has also become a motif in the work of many other contemporary artists. When related to the patriotic slogan of the Unites States, the statement amplifies M201’s colonial entanglements.

Project M201 recalls the origins of the jeepney as a military vehicle, a postwar surplus object that occupies a critical place in the transformation of the auto calesa into motorized public transport. Alfredo Juan and Isabel’s version is stripped bare of ebullient ornamentation, revealing the impeccable sheen of stainless steel. M201’s interior is reconfigured as both a space for conveyance and a personal space. The body is locally produced, in collaboration with Lem-J Motors in Cavite. It is furnished with domestic objects, including an altar with the child Jesus by Lirio Salvador, and decals installed by Roger del Mundo. A video by Kidlat and Kawayan de Guia simulating the jeepney as it plies the streets of Manila thickens the layers of meaning in this installation. The efforts of various individuals in the creation of the work blur the distinctions between artists, mechanics, and technicians. A deliberate challenging of the perceived boundaries of fine arts, folk and popular culture is also accomplished in this case.

Project M201 proposes a rethinking of the jeepney as a representation of Filipino identity in an international contemporary art stage. The vehicle as mode of signification emphasizes travel as an undertaking that is essentially evocative of transit or changing positions. M201 is likewise a fitting counterpoint to the context of Venice, where the narrow and convoluted streets leave no place for vehicles, much less for the famed “King of the Road” of the Philippines.