Manghihilot (Healer)

About

Manghihilot Opening Night Manghihilot is a solo exhibition by Filipino immigrant nonbinary interdisciplinary artist Jethro Patalinghug, presented as the culmination of their Queerly Complex Artist-in-Residency at 465 Collective. Opening on Friday, October 23, 2026, the exhibition is funded by the San Francisco Arts Commission through its Artist Impact Endowment Grant. In Filipino culture, a manghihilot is a traditional healer who works through touch, intuition, body knowledge, and ancestral care. In this immersive installation, Patalinghug expands the idea of healing through drag, sculpture, projection, and community ritual. At the center of the exhibition is a tentacular drag “virus” that spreads through the entire room. Made from sequins, synthetic hair, stockings, jewels, corsetry, light, and projection, the installation overtakes the space like a living organism. Rather than imagining contagion as harm, Manghihilot reclaims it as a force of protection, glamour, humor, resistance, and liberation. The exhibition also features five life-sized sculptural works inspired by the otherworldly and expansive nature of the Babaylan: precolonial spiritual and cultural leaders in the Philippines, many of whom embodied gender-expansive and queer identities. Through these works, Patalinghug traces queer Filipino identity to ancestral lineages of healing, leadership, and sacred function. A video projection component honors the work of Filipino drag performers the Mabuhay Bitches, situating contemporary Filipino drag within a longer lineage of visibility, cultural memory, joy, and communal care. The opening reception will include performances by the Mabuhay Bitches, a Q&A with the artist, a DJ, food, drinks, and community gathering.

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