Faith in Sorcery | Sorcery in Faith #13-14, Diptych

Roldan makes the syncretism of Philippine Catholic practices the subject of enquiry by juxtaposing sacred and pagan objects in the assemblage Faith in Sorcery, Sorcery in Faith #13+14, (2009).  In this diptych, Roldan makes use of estampita or devotional prayer cards that are dedicated to various Catholic saints, as well as folk talismans called anting-anting, bottles containing a mix of minerals, twigs, herbs, seashells and corals immersed in oil, and used for protection against evil spirits. By covering bottles of anting-anting with estampita of different saints, Roldan implies the interchangeable function of these objects.

The visual pattern of his carefully assembled panels is broken only by contrasting colors that form the negative and positive images of a cross. The centrality of the cross in this diptych echoes the importance of this symbol in Catholicism. Here, the positive and negative images reiterate the view that folk spirituality and Catholic beliefs are two sides of the same coin. Both are expressions of a syncretic faith that has absorbed and re-interpreted elements from different beliefs systems.

While the niche-like display removes the found objects from their spiritual or ritual function, the repeating patterns serve somehow also strongly recall the practice of repetitive prayers in Catholicism.  This again emphasizes how, in the Philippine context, lines that separate traditional folk spirituality and Catholic beliefs have blurred over time, reflecting a creative fusion of elements when put into practice.