Multi-awarded artist unfazed by blindness-causing disease

MANILA, Philippines - How would a person, whose star as an artist is on a meteoric rise, face the future with the grim prospect of losing his eyesight?

Multi-awarded sculptor Juan Sajid Imao had been diagnosed to be afflicted with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and may become permanently blind, unless modern medicine intervenes with a breakthrough cure for such malady.

RP, which can be caused by a number of genetic defects, is described as an “inherited, degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment and blindness.”  Symptoms include night blindness, loss of peripheral vision, aversion to glare, blurring of vision, poor color separation, and extreme fatigue.

This disparaging condition would usually be powerful enough to change a person’s outlook in life.

But not Sajid, who, without doubt, is no ordinary man. He is by any measure a chip off the old block, his father Abdulmari Imao being a National Artist in the field of painting and sculpture.  The elder Imao is a self-made artist whose triumph over dire poverty and early separation from his family is an epic story of true grit worthy to be chronicled by the books and the movies.

His visual condition notwithstanding, Sajid has remained undaunted by the possibility of being permanently blind, saying he has become even more focused in his life, both as a family man and an artist.  He has two children – 16-year old son Juri and 5-year-old daughter Aria.

Without vision, he says his heart and soul will guide his hands in pursuing his passion for sculpture. Not one to be blind to life’s blessings, Sajid adds: “I focus on what is important –  my relationships with my family, my art, good health, being around very good people, and just appreciating the present moment.”

Critics described the 41-year-old artist as “one of the country’s most respected young sculptors today.” He is deemed as a “trailblazer” in the field of sculpture, and possesses the “rare talent” of creating iconic figures in both realistic and stylized forms, using brass, bronze, other metals, resin fiber glass, and stone.

Sajid’s creations  have earned him a string of awards, accolades, and prestigious distinctions such as The Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines award in 2001, Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) of the World award in 2006, and the Metrobank Foundation Prize for Achievement in Sculpture (MPAS) in 2007, just to name a few.

No wonder he is widely sought out to make larger than life monuments of heroes and contemporary statesmen, as well as some of the most prominent public art pieces in the country today.  Sajid’s passion is to promote sculpture by creating exceptional and interactive public art. 

One of his iconic works is a 25 meter-in diameter working brass sundial titled Kasaysayan Bawat Oras in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) which was one of the winners during the first public art contest of Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation in 1997. Sajid was also the Grand Prize Winner in Deutsche Bank’s Public Art Contest wherein he created a 10-foot stylized sculpture made of copper and stainless steel which is now installed in front of Netquad, also in BGC.  He did the modern brass crucifix of Ateneo de Manila’s Church of the Gesu using empty mortar shells excavated from the church’s construction site and reinvented them as nails on his rendition of the Christ figure.

Aside from large-scale works, Sajid continues to exhibit smaller pieces in hammered brass which are bold and thought provoking – allowing him to express himself on a more personal level.  

Sajid is is also widely sought out for his trophy designs, having created the unique sculptural trophies for Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Stakeholders’ Awards and the Ramon V. Del Rosario Award for Nation-Building.  He was recently commissioned to do the trophies for the ongoing Philippine Stock Exchange’s Sining PSE: 2012 National Art Competition launched in observance of the institution’s 25th anniversary and unification with the Makati Stock Exchange.