UPLB Sculpture Garden features the works of Junyee

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda led the launch of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) Sculpture Garden, conceptualized and designed by Luis “Junyee” Yee Jr., the country’s foremost installation artist, on April 4.

The UPLB Sculpture Garden, a first of its kind in the country, is a project initiated by the Office of Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and the UPLB administration.

Inside the Sculpture Garden is the Pavilion designed by architect Bimbo Baltre, with the hall serving as an events place to help generate funding for the maintenance of the garden.

Junyee's award-winning works will be put on permanent exhibition, including "Wood Things.” Made in 1980, it is the first indoor installation exhibition in the history of art.

Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda

Also in the sculpture garden is the monument supported by Legarda, "Bantayog Wika," which is a structure that aims to monumentalize the country’s indigenous languages by constructing physical structures to symbolize the significance of Philippine languages as repository of Filipino cultures’ wealth of indigenous knowledge, social values, life practices and traditions, and history.

Some of Junyee’s artworks featured at the UPLB Sculpture Garden

“Isinasalarawan ng sining ang mga isyu at suliranin ng lipunan na minsan ay ating nakakaligtaan o hindi makuhang banggitin at mapag-usapan," Legarda said. "Kung kaya, sa isang magaling na alagad ng sining, ang aking kaibigan, Junyee, lubos ang aking pasasalamat sa pagbabahagi mo ng iyong galing at talento. Salamat sa iyong malikhaing pagbibigay boses at kahulugan sa mga talakayin sa lipunan at sa ating kapaligiran."

Legarda has long been recognized as an advocate of cultural preservation, supporting endeavors such as the Schools of Living Traditions, sponsored the documentation of indigenous knowledge and traditional practices, and organized regional assemblies and the first national indigenous cultural summit.

The four-term senator, who concurrently serves as the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts, has legislated several measures including the Cultural Mapping Law, which contributes largely in the continued promotion and preservation of Filipino culture and heritage.