For this week’s #FreedomMW feature for #MuseumWeek, we are featuring Fermin Gomez’ 1949 sculpture, “A Plea for Freedom From Fear” from the National Fine Arts Collection. A Plea for Freedom from Fear depicts a wailing mother embracing her baby while two children hide behind her and a dead child lies at her foot. Completed four years after the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, this sculpture describes and depicts the anguish and fear felt by mothers for their children who suffered and were abandoned during the war and their desire for freedom. The sculptor, Fermin Gomez (1918-1984) was born in Tarlac, a province in Luzon, Philippines. In 1937, he graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman. He was mentored by National Artist for Sculptor Guillermo E. Tolentino. Before the Second World War, he taught at the University of the Philippines. From 1952 to 1973, he worked for the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA) as a building supervisor and artist, where he produced many works of art, particularly sculptures. Among these, is his life-sized monument of Neptune and Aphrodite on top of a giant turtle. View this sculpture inside Silvina and Juan C. Laya Hall (Gallery VIII) of the National Museum of Fine Arts. While our Fine Arts building is temporarily closed to the public until July 4, 2022, you may view the 360 Virtual Tour of this exhibition by clicking this link: https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nmfa360/HTML5/NMFA360.html. #Freedom #NationalMuseumPH