Untitled (Celestial Motors)

Untitled (Celestial Motors), (2012) is Maria Taniguchi’s comprehensive survey of a modern cultural icon of the Philippines —the jeepney. At the end of World War II, American troops left behind a large number of jeeps in the Philippines. These vehicles were later refitted en masse and given special authorisation for use as small buses, transporting passengers along a fixed route on a flexible schedule. The video pans slowly across the vehicle’s shiny chrome fixtures and padded leather interiors, recalling the slick advertisements of luxury sports cars. Though a contributor to the intense traffic situation in Manila, the jeepney is re-imagined as a different kind of vehicle, one whose flashing interior lights might just be signalling Filipino aspirations for national progress, urbanisation, and modernisation.