Art from Ash; Picking up the pieces from Pinatubo

Announcements, Features, Updates — 23 March 2010

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Some Filipino artists have recently made use of lahar as a medium for their artistic creations. Arts & Crafts Philippines is proud to showcase some of these lahar-based artworks.*****

In 1991, a previously believed to be dormant volcano in Zambales in Central Western Luzon awed the world with its sudden and mega-powerful eruption. It’s ash falls reached halfway across the globe all the way to the US.

Mt. Pinatubo expectorated millions of tons of sand-like pyroclastic materials that volcanologists call “lahar.” For several years after the eruption the lahar deposited on the slopes of the mountain wreaked havoc to the low lying towns of Central Luzon. During rainy seasons, these lahar deposits are washed down to the plains and catch basins below, forever changing the landscape, displacing millions of people, and ruining properties and businesses.Until now the lahar from Mt. Pinatubo casts a dark curse on the land. Hardly any vegetation can grow and bear fruit and massive mud flows that come with seasonal torrential rains and typhoons are an always clear and present danger to people and their livelihood.

But the resilience and creativity of the Filipino are, little by little, asserting themselves, refusing to be defeated by calamities beyond its control. The Filipino is known to turn disasters into opportunities, and many industries and livelihoods have since flourished around Pinatubo, using the very thing that cursed the land — lahar.

The more obvious uses of lahar include: hollow blocks (bricks), as alternative to sand in construction, filling materials, and the like. Lahar has been said to have been transported by the tons to some beach resorts to improve the quality of their beach fronts.

Some artists have recently made use of lahar as a medium for their artistic creations. Arts & Crafts Philippines is proud to showcase some of these lahar-based artworks.

Quickly gaining popularity are the religion-inspired items such as the image of the Sto. Nino, the face of Jesus Christ, etc. all hand-molded and sculpted using lahar as the primary material.

Lahar-based sculptures are very delicate because lahar is naturally porous and loose. This makes lahar sculpture even more desirable by art collectors and religious devotees.

Click here to check out some of the available “lahar art” in this eStore.