Justiniani loves to place his characters in precarious conditions courting danger. While Justiniani introduces a comic note, he is more complex than a cartoon figure, for he is also the sign of the ludicrous and the absurd, as well as the oppressive grotesque as he leapfrogs over lesser creatures, or plays the power game with other equally hefty colleagues.

The kneeling everyman, dressed in camisa de chino, bears angelic wings yet is about to pick up a hammer. What is he going to do next? At the same time he also signifies a fleshy bumbling playfulness defying gravity and giving the lie to appearances.

His paintings in oil can also be seen as explorations of Filipino folk culture that show the intertwining of indigeno...