Having explored themes of death, decay, and mortality over a three-decade career, one might expect Geraldine Javier to be serious, sullen, even morbid. But when we met at her latest solo exhibition at Silverlens in Manila, she was quiet, engaging, and reflective about the changes to her work and her overall outlook. She told me that she views death differently now—seeing it as part of the life cycle that is not to be feared—before remarking that while death remains “ever-present” she no longer feels “oppressed, repressed.”
Javier graduated with a nursing degree from the University of the Philippines, Manila in 1987, but medicine proved to be an unsuitable field. Instead, she embarked on a career in the arts, despite the fact that in the Philippines the medical field is held in far higher regard. Bold and persevering, Javier graduated with a fine arts degree
