The exhibit “Maria: A Kaleidoscope” is an exploration in presenting the traditional image of the Filipina in Filipiniana attire by artist Norjan Ismail Abbas. Moving further along his “Talukbong at Tapis” 2024 exhibit, Maria is a focused exploration into the “Alternative Filipiniana.”
For this exhibit, “kaleidoscope” refers to the different images/roles of the Filipina at a certain historical period, probably at the turn of the 20th century or post-American period, as seen in these images. In Maria, one can glean the iconic women of Fernando Amorsolo’s paintings: images of women bathing in rivers, women selling in the town plaza, and women going to church.
Abass, in this second iteration, utilizes the abstract, the modernist, and Fauvist-inspired styles (though most of the pieces are in muted colors) in the representation of the Filipina with a strong emphasis on her garb. It is a re-imagination of the nostalgic colonial Filipina using a contemporary lens.
“Maria: A Kaleidoscope” is all about further exploration of the traditional Filipina, her traditional roles in colonial or pos-colonial times, and how the Filipiniana dress serves as a tool of protection, comfort (or discomfort), and submission or subservience.
In this set, the women are veiled and hidden with the help of the veil, the salakot, the side profile, and the backside perspective. They seem busy with daily activities and they do not look the viewer in the eye. The Filipina, then, is presented as mysterious, non-confrontational, nameless, and ever elusive. To Abass, this is the typical Filipina of the past. 
This exhibit goads the viewer to see more than the scenes. The viewer is encouraged to take in all the elements in these paintings to conjure a backstory for each scene. Why limit oneself to just viewing a singular piece when one can perceive a personal interpretation of each picture? The viewer is encouraged to be engaged, and immerse oneself in the scene. Maria is an invitation to connect, conjure, and conjecture from the context of these intriguing images.
“Maria: A Kaleidoscope” opens on July 26, 2025 at the Gateway Gallery Studio. It will run until August 1, 2025.
