Adan at Eva (Putok sa Buho)

Virgillio Aviado (1944) was born in Manila, the Philippines and graduated from College of Music and Fine Arts of the Philippine Women'�s University in 1967. He is a well-respected printmaker in the Philippines, who is versatile in numerous printmaking techniques, such as woodcuts and colour-etching. Aviado gained fame with his participation in numerous international exhibitions and competition in the medium of printmaking. He has conducted print workshops worldwide, including in Paris, Madrid and Fukuoka. There is a wide variety of creation myths in the Philippines, often differing in each region and ethnic groups, adding to the rich Filipino culture. One such myth narrates how Bamboo, the child of the Land Breeze and the Sea breeze, was split into two by Kite, the great bird, after Bamboo stuck Kite and angered it. From Bamboo, emerged the first man and woman, �'Malakas'� (the Strong one) and '�Maganda'� (the Beautiful one). It is this bamboo splitting moment which Aviado captures in '�Adan at Eva'�, dividing the work into two equal halves, with the alchemical symbols that allude to the work�'s mythological subject. A possible interpretation here is the equal status accorded to women in pre-Hispanic culture, as both sexes emerge simultaneously, as opposed to how Eve was created from the rib of Adam, according to the Christian story of the beginning of humankind.