DAGGERS OF THOUGHT

“Daggers of Thought”
Alvin Zafra

This exhibition is a collection of portraits of known personalities, all of which are victims of gun violence and gun culture. It is a tribute to the pillars of thought and a marker to the violence that persists in history. The portraits were chosen relative to my existence – Gandhi’s non violence mirrors object/medium’s approach, Lean being a fellow UP student and a leader of resistance, and Kurt’s craft as a big influence on my musical vocabulary.

In this series, icons meet their end via a gunshot; bullet and subject are both resurrected into a new existence which is Art.


Etching bullets against sandpaper, artist Alvin Zafra resurrects influential men in his new show “Daggers of Thought”. Zafra reunites these men with the material that has caused their deaths; but this time, these bullets take form as a medium in immortalizing them through a new realm that is Art.

Artist Alvin Zafra brings men back to life in his new show “Daggers of Thought”. The exhibit features portraits of men whose lives were cut short by bullets and gunshots. Zafra however, resurrects these men through the same material as he uses and infuses such in his art-making.

The exhibit runs from 20 May to 10 June 2011 at NOVA Gallery, Warehouse 12A, La Fuerza Compound, 2241 Don Chino Roces Ave., Makati City.