Excited that PS122 Gallery extended the Residency Unlimited (RU) 2023 NYC-Based Artist Residency Program in pieces… exhibition curated by Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger until July 9. The show highlights works by Abang-guard (Maureen Catbagan + Jevijoe Vitug), Tatiana Arocha, Miatta Kawinzi, and Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow.
Featured in the exhibition is Abang-guard’s Little Manila Monuments, an ongoing research-based project that draws inspiration from the Rizal Monument in Manila, Philippines that commemorates the national hero, Dr. José Rizal and is guarded by the Philippine Marine Corps’ Marine Security. The multi-media installation presents brick-and-mortar businesses in Little Manila, Queens, as landmark monuments in New York City to pay tribute to the working-class immigrants who built them, and acknowledge them as modern-day transnational heroes. Abang-guard acts as sentinels in front of restaurants and convenience stores, framing their value and significance as bridges and lifelines between families and their homeland.