_Batman_ (2004)

Batman
Oil pastels on canvas
2004

Collection of Mico Marasigan
Photo by Mico Marasigan

This still life was part of my exhibit at mag:net gallery on Pasong Tamo, also in 2004. It features a clutter of items in my old bedroom: a Batman doll a co-worker's husband bought for me in Hong Kong; a Michael Keaton Batman mug that a student from De La Salle University gave me; a dip pen; a Bat Signal sticker; a brown, leather journal my sister Lourdes sent me from Sydney; a black, leather journal also sent by my eldest sister Lourdes from Sydney; my Bat Signal tie; a white, aromatherapy lamp and a giant Batman War comic book purchased from National Book Store Superbranch; a cloissone ashtray that I bought in Hong Kong en route home from training in DC; a gold fountain pen; reading glasses in a gold case; money bills; a drinking glass; a mobile phone (yes, once upon a time I used mobiles!); an empty carton of cigarettes; an antique, sterling silver key holder; a leather cigarette case and a lighter in a silver case I purchased in San Diego, California; a yellow, long-sleeved shirt; a foot roller; an antique tin; and a porcelain box, among other things.

This painting is small in comparison with my other works. I consider its triumph to be a triumph of detail, a difficult thing to achieve with oil pastels on canvas.

However, as I always tell others, "I never wanted to be Batman, but I always wanted to be Bruce Wayne."