{"product_id":"ulysses","title":"Ulysses","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSan Miguel, Bulacan, Philippines 2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePremium 260gsm Photo Paper Luster Finish - \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e20\"x28\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was stranded in a rural area of Bulacan, Philippines, during the lockdown in 2020. Before COVID-19 hit, I was enjoying my time in Manila. When the lockdown took affect, I made my way to my parents and extended family a three-hour bus ride away; it was my first time experiencing the Philippines—my homeland—as an adult.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe were living in my late Grandma's place, a very old, unrenovated concrete house. The roof was made of a single layer of corrugated iron sheets attached to the house by nails driven into the wooden skeleton underneath. Over the years, that wood had been rotting and eaten away by termites. Because of how it was built, the house wasn't really sealed from the outside world. Imagine four standing concrete walls in a rectangle: you throw some wooden 2x4s on top as a frame, attach them to the concrete walls somehow, and then throw the iron roof on top of the wooden frame. No soffits, no fascia, no eavestroughs—maybe just some metal wire to try to keep out the birds. A breeze could flow right through the house. If my dad was in the backyard burning stuff, I could smell it from inside.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c!--TgQPHd|||[]--\u003eLizards, rats, and other animals could easily make their way through the openings right under the roof. There were no ceilings in the majority of the house. If you were sitting in the living room and looked up, you'd see the wood and the iron roof, and that was all that separated you from the elements. It was definitely something to get used to.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn November 11, 2020, Typhoon Ulysses hit the Philippines, battering the country for several days and affecting Central Luzon the hardest. It caused extreme flooding, leading to over 100 deaths and many injuries. Luckily, my area of Bulacan was on the outskirts of the most severely affected zone, but the typhoon still left its mark, causing power outages for weeks, road closures from debris, flooding, and widespread damage to homes and businesses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI remember that night pretty clearly. We lost power early in the evening, and the winds progressively got stronger and stronger while the rain poured. At its peak, all you could hear was the wind rushing through our home. I was convinced that our roof would fly off—somehow, it didn't. I tried looking out the glass front door, but I couldn't see anything, so I took a flashlight and pointed it through the glass. All I saw was rain moving in a manner I'd never seen before: completely sideways. I could probably only see two metres in front of me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen the wind subsided, I went to bed. In the morning, I decided to take my camera out and document what had happened. One of the photos I took was of this house, which was only a two-minute walk from ours. I pass this house all the time to go to the main street. I almost didn't take a photo of it—there was no shortage of disorder in the neighbourhood—but what caught my eye was this dog. She was just standing at the entrance of the lot, almost like she was guarding and protecting the remains of her home. Judging by her body language, she was terrified.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRead more about the collection \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/arthursollano.com\/pages\/szn1fs\" title=\"Fast Slow\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFast—Slow\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"a12t","offers":[{"title":"20\" x 28\" with frame","offer_id":49185573306624,"sku":null,"price":280.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20\" x 28\" - print only","offer_id":49185573273856,"sku":null,"price":220.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0803\/3832\/1664\/files\/Ulysses.jpg?v=1789935637","url":"https:\/\/arthursollano.com\/products\/ulysses","provider":"a12t","version":"1.0","type":"link"}