SOMETIMES, there is a feeling of emptiness and sadness no matter where you are and what you do. Some people conquer this and live through. But there are people who are stuck in that one suffocating and dark world, not knowing how to fight and survive.
In a highly-urbanized place like Davao City, where most people care a little about each other but work, there are still people who care about other people and their struggles in life that boiled down to depression.
Perry Liquigan, 44, an artist for 25 years and currently an event designer, founded the Davao Artists Club last December 2017. They started with five active members that now grew to 50 and with more than 500 artists in their Facebook group.
“Life is like looking at a certain painting. If you zoom it in, you will only see a part of it but if you look at it from afar, you will see its beauty, the whole image,” he said.
“That is one reason why a lot of people are depressed or suicidal. They zoomed in a part of the situation they are going through. But if you are an artist, you will see life in a wider perspective,” he added.
Liquigan said he personally went through depression and is now actively advocating on how to cope through something that he knows best. He also said that most of the members of Davao Artists Club are those who, at some point in their lives, went through that certain stage.
“Actually most of the artists have been there and others are still going through depression but slowly, some are overcoming it through art and it becomes controllable,” Rey Mark Gipulao, 25, president of Davao Artists Club, said in an interview with SunStar Davao last week.
Artists like Niño Acero, 22; Jamar Ladjahasan, 23; and Martin Benedict Limuan, 23; said that they also went through stage where everything seemed not to work at all no matter what they do. At some point they wanted to give up but they found each other and have found their purpose and passion in art.
Dresfie Codriga, 20, whose expertise is calligraphy, said that if she had not met Liquigan and the other artists in the group she may not be able to enjoy life now.
Codriga found out that she has scoliosis, a medical condition wherein a person's spine has a curvature, years ago and was in need of operation. That was when she went through severe depression. But art saved her. Her paintings and drawings were first an expression of anger until slowly, she was able to let it all out and move forward.
Right after graduating from the Ford Academy of the Arts, Liquigan spent all his time making art works. He had been in a group of artists for long but he came to a point that he wanted to create his own group to inspire newbies to learn and discover more.
Liquigan and the members of the Davao Artist Club are actively conducting free art workshops to children in the barangays with the help of some sponsors and friends.
“It is costly. We sacrifice time, effort, and money,” he said, adding that even if it is hard, there is always a feeling of satisfaction in helping others through their talents and skills.
He said that if children are exposed to arts, they may grow up doing these things other than drugs that may ruin their life. With what they are doing, there is a chance that these children may no longer need to go through depression.
The group has also been doing live sketching in the parks where people could pay at least P50 only.
“Art is not just about painting or drawing. It is everything you do, that defines your lifestyle. As for me, as an artist, this is what I do to cope up with things I am not really in control. I express it all through art,” Liquigan said.