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Lot Essay
This work is supposedly to be the only work she made in 1995, a re-visit thematically of a work she painted in the 70s - the Five Senses which reportedly won the artist an award. With the present work, the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch are represented and added with the sixth faculty of the elusive and peculiar intuition - a faculty long perceived as a feminine quality. One would think this is a most appropriate allusion to feminine sensitivity for an artist who celebrates the beauty and the strength of women in all her works.
Interestingly, the Sixth sense of intuition or rather the artistic muses is represented by a little boy in the work. The boy who is the only male figure among the women is seen here playing a flute and sitting on the ground, he almost blends in with his garden environment.
Attention is drawn also to the signature appearing on the left panel which clearly states 'Anita Magsaysaysay Ho', apparently erroneously signed by the artist, and to rectify the mistake the artist has signed on the reverse of the canvas again. However, this spontaneous mistake serves as an intimate and personable anecdote to this present work as well as the perfect allusion to indeed the sixth senses of the unconscious - a sphere where the spirits wander freely and take over the conscious and formalistic mind.
"A distinct period in the mid-to-late 70s may be called the Green Period after its predominance coloration as in Women Fishing. The green that predominates is the hue of leaves, fruit, and vegetables and the women figures share this colour perhaps symbolically as they themselves become like fruit in the bosom of nature. The skin tones of green and rose are smoothly blended for a luminous effect." (Alice G. Guillermo, "A Journey of Self-discovery" in 12 ASEAN ARTISTS, Balai Seni Lukis Negara 2000, the artists and authors, Kuala Lumpur, 2000, p. 31).
Although the present work is dated in 1995, it certainly contains the quintessential elements as outlined by the writer and indeed by the 90s, Anita has developed a matured and signature style that is instantaneously recognisable: "The physical type of her sisterhood of women is clearly defined: the oval face with high cheekbones, narrow eyes and brows softly curving upward to temples." (Ibid)
Interestingly, the Sixth sense of intuition or rather the artistic muses is represented by a little boy in the work. The boy who is the only male figure among the women is seen here playing a flute and sitting on the ground, he almost blends in with his garden environment.
Attention is drawn also to the signature appearing on the left panel which clearly states 'Anita Magsaysaysay Ho', apparently erroneously signed by the artist, and to rectify the mistake the artist has signed on the reverse of the canvas again. However, this spontaneous mistake serves as an intimate and personable anecdote to this present work as well as the perfect allusion to indeed the sixth senses of the unconscious - a sphere where the spirits wander freely and take over the conscious and formalistic mind.
"A distinct period in the mid-to-late 70s may be called the Green Period after its predominance coloration as in Women Fishing. The green that predominates is the hue of leaves, fruit, and vegetables and the women figures share this colour perhaps symbolically as they themselves become like fruit in the bosom of nature. The skin tones of green and rose are smoothly blended for a luminous effect." (Alice G. Guillermo, "A Journey of Self-discovery" in 12 ASEAN ARTISTS, Balai Seni Lukis Negara 2000, the artists and authors, Kuala Lumpur, 2000, p. 31).
Although the present work is dated in 1995, it certainly contains the quintessential elements as outlined by the writer and indeed by the 90s, Anita has developed a matured and signature style that is instantaneously recognisable: "The physical type of her sisterhood of women is clearly defined: the oval face with high cheekbones, narrow eyes and brows softly curving upward to temples." (Ibid)