''Super Robot - Suffer Reboot'' is the name given to a series of three sculptures by Filipino artist

Toym Leon Imao Abdulmari de Leon Imao, Jr. (born 1968), better known by either Toym Leon Imao or Toym Imao, is a Filipinos, Filipino multi-media visual artist whose art is known for its commentary on Filipino social conditions, as well as for its pop culture sen ...

. The sculptures, made from 2014 to 2016, are each inspired by a specific Japanese mecha animated television series which were popular in the Philippines in the 1970s.

Sculptures

''Super Robot - Suffer Reboot'' is the collective name for three separate sculptures. The names of each sculpture are alliterations. All of them were first exhibited at the steps of the Palma Hall at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Symbolism

The sculptures were made to symbolize the sufferings and injustices experienced by Filipinos, with an emphasis towards the time of martial law during

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

' presidency, when many Japanese mecha animated series became popular among Filipino children. By 1979, Marcos banned every mecha series considered to have violent content inappropriate for children. Imao, who used to watch ''Voltes V'' and other mecha series, made the sculptures to symbolize his anger when those series' broadcasts were halted by Marcos: "At first it was only because he deprived me of a favorite TV character. And then a sort of political awakening happened. Suddenly, I was affected by what grownups were talking about: Martial law."

References

{{reflist 2014 sculptures 2015 sculptures 2016 sculptures Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos Pop art