The Binge
Jessica Zafra

BLINDING sums of money are being made in the Philippine art boom. Art is the “It Bag” of the moment: anyone with the funds can snag a Birkin, but there are only so many masterworks to go around. Of course where there are big bucks, there are shady characters. The gap between supply and demand has been filled by entrepreneurs who miraculously produce works by major artists — pieces that were previously unknown, or presumed missing or destroyed. Surely their powers are supernatural, for they can turn up new work by long-dead painters. (If a forger claims to have been possessed by the spirit of a dead artist at the time he painted the piece, should it be considered authentic?)