TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol — The National Museum of the Philippines–Bohol has opened an exhibition that blends fine art, marine conservation, and a thirty‑year promise. “Of Man and Myths, Of Muses and Mangrovian Mothers” features the hauntingly beautiful “Ku‑an Ba Fish” Art Project by Boholano artist Noel “Gene” Borja Lungay, inviting visitors to witness a message in a bottle crafted for the next generation.
Art Meets Conservation
The exhibition’s centerpiece is a collection of one hundred Philippine glass bottles, each transformed into a miniature gallery. Inside and around the glass, Lungay has sculpted intricate marine forms using driftwood, resin, gold leaf, and gemstones. The bottles are displayed on cork mounts, creating a shimmering installation that draws the eye and stirs curiosity.
The project takes its name from a phrase familiar to divers at Panglao’s Alona Beach in the 1990s. When guides could not recall a specific fish species, they would say “Ku‑an ba,” a Visayan filler for something momentarily forgotten. Lungay uses this expression to symbolize all the unnamed, overlooked creatures that inhabit the ocean. His work asks visitors to pay attention to what they might otherwise ignore.
Voices from the Mangroves
Hidden inside each bottle is a parchment scroll bearing the handwritten words of a fisherman from one of three coastal municipalities—Maribojoc, Loon, or Calape. The messages, written in Bisaya, speak of daily life on the water, the changing sea, and the hopes these men hold for their children and grandchildren. Every note carries the writer’s name and the exact GPS coordinates of his fishing ground.
These are not fictional stories composed for an audience. They are raw, personal testimonies from people who depend on Bohol’s mangroves, reefs, and seagrass beds for survival. By sealing their words in art, the fishermen become collaborators in a creative act that reaches far beyond the museum walls. Visitors can sense the weight of their trust and the urgency of their message.
A 30‑Year Time Capsule
The most powerful element of the Ku‑an Ba Fish project is its timeline. The bottles will remain sealed for three decades, held in institutional care. In the year 2056, they will be opened by the original writers’ descendants—their children, grandchildren, or great‑grandchildren. The exhibition thus transforms from a static display into a living promise.
This generation‑spanning gesture challenges everyone who views the bottles today. It asks whether the marine ecosystems that sustain these coastal families will be healthier or more damaged when the seals are finally broken. The museum has become a keeper not only of art but of accountability, holding the present generation to its environmental responsibilities.
An Invitation to Witness Living Heritage
For travelers exploring Bohol’s Chocolate Hills and white‑sand beaches, this exhibition offers a different kind of encounter. It connects visitors to the island’s intangible heritage—the voices of the people who have long lived at the edge of land and sea. The museum itself, housed in a beautifully restored heritage building, is a destination worth lingering in.
Mayor Jane Cajes‑Yap and local cultural advocates have championed the project as a bridge between creative expression and community development. The exhibition is open throughout July 2026, inviting tourists and locals alike to experience art that is both deeply personal and profoundly forward‑looking. Those who step into the gallery will carry away the quiet echo of fishermen’s hopes, sealed in glass and waiting to be heard.
