Phlegm is a large installation of 100 drawings by Filipino artist José Legaspi that incorporates religious iconography, autobiography, and self-portraiture. The black and white automatic drawings visualize the materiality, misery, absurdity, and meaninglessness of life. Legaspi’s imagery is drawn from sources such as Christ’s crucifixion and the martyrdom of the Saints; other images feature the poverty, corruption and violence faced by Filipinos on a daily basis. Legaspi’s own sense of sexual alienation, being an openly gay man within a society generally intolerant of homosexuality, is also expressed in these works.

In conjunction with this residency, Art in General published a brochure with a text by Angel Velasco Shaw. It can be downloaded here for free. For a printed version, purchase this publication along with the entire set of Art in General’s residency brochures in the online store for only $5.