03/12/2024
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐: โ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐งโ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌโ
Would you call it a disability if it is one of the reasons that makes a person special? A disability or an instrument for a blank canvas to be finally painted?
At a rugged terrain in Ifugao, where the mountains kissed the sky and rice terraces were carved on the flat surfaces of the earth, there lived Amado Binwag Dulnuan.
He was born without armsโa truth that could have put an end to his story before it even began. But despite this, he painted his life in vibrant hues of determination and passion. As if, even at birth, the universe seemed to whisper a rebellious fate into his existence.
His story does not only speak about his survival, but also about his strength in a world that underestimates the power of resilience within people who are deemed as disabled.
Like how paint mixes, childhood came as a mixture of wonder and seclusion. At the age of five, Amadoโs family sent him to a school for the disabledโa sanctuary that was both a cocoon and a crucible.
It was there, in a world of children who carried their battles the same way as him, that he first encountered the boundless power of creativity. In their soft cries, weak smiles, and shared humanity, he found the seeds of hope.
The school became the ground for his growth. There, Amado was not defined by what he lacked but by what he could do.
His early years in school were spent practicing skills that many assumed he could never learn. What others did with their hands, he did it with his feet.
His pencils danced across pages, tracing his desire to create an art, yearning to be more than just a person with disability.
It was there that his artistic inclinations began to blossom, nurtured by teachers who saw not a helpless child without arms but a young man brimming with potential.
As he grew, so did his dreams. Education became his lifelineโhe clung to it with fervor. His journey at the University of the Philippines was more than just an academic pursuit; it was a declaration of his right to dream.
The easel before him, the different palette in reach, with a fine arts program, Amado learned to paint with his feetโdelicate strokes that told stories of infinite dreams.
Year 1983 came, with the support of the Heritage Art Centre, Amado held his first solo exhibition. The world, often blind to the extraordinary within the ordinary, was forced to take notice.
His art was not just a showcase of skill but a proclamation: I am here, I create, I endure.
The success of this exhibition was not merely personal; it was collective, a victory for every soul like him who was always underestimated.
His subjects focused more on Philippine landscapes and flowers, rendered in oil paints. They were metaphors of his life. The rugged terrains mirrored his challenges, and the vibrant flowers, ever resilient, reflected his victories.
With each painting, he invited viewers to see the world not through pity but through admiration for his boundless determination.
Amado Binwag Dulnuanโs life is a masterpiece of resilience, painted not with ease but with the grit of a man who refused to be defined by his circumstances. His journey challenges us to rethink our perceptions of people with disability, urging us to see beyond what is visible.
In his story lies a profound truth: greatness is not measured by what we have but by how we use what we are given.
His story is a reminder that no matter the challenges we face, we too can paint a life of purpose and beauty.
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Written by Hazel Comador
PubMat by Daniel Carlo Clemente
