M$N$CULTURE

2024 | Boston Art Gallery | Philippines

Made with abaca, gampi, and used lottery scratchers, M$N$CULTURE is a handmade paper work that includes ink drawings of oil palm monocultures surrounding a centralized triangle. Here, the repeated oil palm brings to mind the development of oil palm plantations throughout the Global South. As the global demand for palm oil grows, the palm industry increasingly marginalizes local communities and threatens the environment through deforestation.

Capitalism and its extraction of labor and natural resources make sure that the same wealthy few remain at the top of the pyramid. While pitted against each other, we remain at the bottom 99 while the top 1 percent sit idly above. Like the lottery, the system has long been rigged against us.

“‘M$N$CULTURE’ (2024) is an expansive mixed-media work constructed from a pulp that combines used lottery scratchers with abaca and gampi plant fibers. At the center of the work is a representation of a pyramid surrounded by ink drawings of oil palm monocultures. This references the rise of monoculture farming in the Philippines since the 1960s, entering the country with the investment of Filipino elites and foreign companies. This type of farming continues to deaden thousands of hectares of soil and poison waterways with its use of chemicals, often dispossessing Indigenous communities from their lands. At the top of the pyramid is a small triangle gilded with gold leaf. This symbolizes the goal of economic success that meritocracy advertises, which is the belief that hard work will always pay off. This desire for riches is contrasted with the visible lottery scratchers throughout the piece, a reminder that most of us will not achieve the gross amount of wealth that the top 1 percent has hoarded. Even if we entertain the smallest possibility of winning big when we mark a lottery ticket, capitalism ensures that the vast majority of Filipinos will always bear the brunt of the widening economic gap.”⁠ — Sarah Conanan

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