Brother's Share (Hating Kapatid)
Elmer Borlongan
1993

In street and colloquial parlance, the term hating kapatid means an equal share among those who need the same thing, whether it is an object to be borrowed, or food to be shared or space to be occupied. Elmer Borlongan, having been born and raised in Manila's urban inner cities, knows to observe how this concept operates in the everyday life of the Filipino. In this painting he represents two children sharing a bench as a bed to sleep on, each curling up to make use of the space they can share, equally of course, making the most of what they can, even in the very inches of a wooden board. As it is evident in many of his works in the 1990's, Borlongan's portrayal is one of amused hilarity over the sheer ingenuity of Filipino resilience. While this work shows the problem of a lack of proper shelter, it does not take away from us the humor of its absurdity and the equally surprising mirth of its solutions.

Medium
Acrylic on Canvas

Dimensions
78 x 102 cm (30 x 40”)