DikitRato writes human rights issues with photo graffiti

You could hardly see the A.S. steps of Palma Hall in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. The usually spacious academic oval was covered as well, as the annual lantern parade was in full swing and hundreds of people were on campus to join the festivities. Unnoticed by most, three men began spreading paste on the wall. They checked to see if they're being watched, and were satisfied with the minimal attention from a few curious parade-goers. They worked quickly, covering an entire section of the wall before anyone could find out what they're up to. A few minutes later, a blown-up photograph of Edith Burgos holding a photo of her son, disappeared activist Jonas Burgos, had been pasted, and the men disappeared into the crowd. Unlike the real subject of the photo, the men have not really disappeared - and they will likely be spotted a few days later, doing the same thing in some other public space. In fact, the UP Lantern Parade was the fourth time this group struck since they launched DikitRato on December 10, Human Rights Day.

"We chose to set up here because we want people to remember what is happening before they celebrate," said Leonard Reyes, one of the photographers. DikitRato is a photo-graffiti public exhibit and interactive installation mounted in open spaces to call attention to the country's human rights situation. The exhibit is one of several efforts made by Surfacing - a photography project on human rights in the Philippines, portraying the struggles of families of victims of human rights violations related to the state's policy against so-called terrorism. Given the sensitive topics of enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings and political detentions, Surfacing has been no easy task for the 13 emerging photographers who participated in the project. Over the past couple of months, the photographers were able to document families willing to tell their harrowing stories of loss, hope and continuing search for their loved ones, and for justice. The families had to overcome their initial hesitation to "surface" their stories and open up to strangers, and the photographers also had to overcome their apprehension in covering the sensitive issue. The results, however, were moving installations - both literally and figuratively. Included in DikitRato are photos taken by Andrei Cruz and Mon Mamaril. There are also photos from the series Mrs. Tiamzon by Sandino Nartea, For Land and Justice by Ilang-Ilang Quijano, James Balao by Angelica Carballo, (Dis)Connect by Om Narayan Velasco, Culture of Impunity by Lady Ann Salem, Bakwit by Kenneth Roland A. Guda, and Vanished Lives/Remembered Moments by BJ Patiño. While the usual methods of bringing attention to the issue are bound in time and space, reaching a limited audience such as in a gallery exhibit, DikitRato goes beyond the confines of indoor venues and brings the issue out in broad daylight. DikitRato's method is inspired by the TED Prize-winning French photographer JR, an anonymous guerilla artist who tells people's stories through pasted images on massive local canvases like buildings, buses, roads and bridges. "We're reclaiming public spaces," one photographer told GMANews.TV as he spread gawgaw (rice paste) on the wall. On their site, they explain that DikitRato is also a statement against the intrusion of commercial advertising into public spaces--against the visual pollution of product promotion. They believe public spaces should be the domain of people's art rather than mind-numbing advertisement. While the photos are usually installed in the early morning or late at night, to lessen the risk of being taken down immediately, they are viewed by the public during the day, in unexpected moments of daily routine. DikitRato has set up their exhibit at the Philcoa overpass, the Katipunan underpass, España, Taumbayan restaurant and the National Press Club, mostly- heavily populated areas where people from all walks of life cross paths. The goal is "to make the photos visible and accessible to the common Filipino---who comprise the vast majority of victims of these of these human rights abuses, and who therefore, need to be informed the most." The success of the project is, of course, difficult to determine given its nature. Those involved can only monitor the audience's reaction from time to time, and the exhibit can be taken down at any time. As of posting time, only two of DikitRato's installations are still standing, surprisingly including the one at the Philcoa overpass. "Maybe since there are no slogans, people cant quite know what to make of them," said Reyes. Despite this, they remain optimistic that the project is working. One photographer related that while putting a photo up, an MMDA sweeper said "A oo nga, parang may hinahanap 'yung mata niya." "Kahit sila nakikita nila na maganda," the photographer told GMANews.TV. At Philcoa, another photographer overheard a man commenting, "Ang galing, walang nakasulat pero pansin agad at malakas ang dating. Tagpi-tagpi pero nabuo." Also, Reyes explained that DikitRato is designed to be ephemeral. "It's not really meant to be up for long. Because we believe that people only need to see a photo once, and kung malakas 'yung photo, if it resonates with them or piques their curiosity even for a few seconds, it will stay in their head for a lifetime, or at least a few days," he said. The photos were indeed beautiful, and haunting. Printed in black and white, the subjects were undeniably arresting, and passersby couldn't help but look and feel a sense of loss. Whether or not they got the message was a gray area, however, but at least a few did. Sometimes, while the photos were being posted, some inquisitive people came up to find out what it's all about, and the photographer would tell them the story behind the photo before directing them to the Surfacing website. At the AS steps, several students stopped and stared at the photos, and not a few took pictures of the photos themselves. A few days later, a photo of a photo of a woman holding a photo would appear somewhere online, and DikitRato would have taken on a life of its own. The photos are posted with no words to aid the viewer, other than the website address. It is Surfacing's hope that the pictures, more than words, would be able to open eyes and hearts to these stories. "And may we never look away again," they write on their website, where they enjoin others to join the project by printing the photos and mounting their own DikitRato exhibit. "Just download the file, cook your own gawgaw and find a wall," they said. - GMANews.TV