Philippines 2026

Title: Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig
Commissioner: National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda
Curator: Mara Gladstone
Exhibitor: Jon Cuyson

The Philippine Pavilion presents “Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig”, a solo exhibition by Manila-based visual artist and filmmaker Jon Cuyson. The presentation features paintings, videos, and sculptures that pay homage to Filipino seafarers.

The installation functions as a spatial system forming an abstracted horizon, weaving together an oceanic narrative told from four perspectives: the sailor, his mother, his lover, and the sea of echoes. Central to the work is the motif of the mussel, used as a metaphor for resilience and the memory of the oceans. The artist explores these marine organisms to understand kinship across land and sea, drawing parallels between the endurance of mollusks and the nature of maritime labour.

Rooted in queer and postcolonial ecologies, the artist employs “memory modules” to connect submerged histories and fragments of belonging. The immersive environment, incorporates light and sound to channel the lives and longings of seafarers and their families.