Balikbayan

With a Filipina mother and a Caucasian father, my upbringing was a blend of two cultures; a mestiza. As a second-generation Filipina-American born in the United States, I was nineteen when I took my first trip to the Philippines yet I was fortunate enough to have grown up immersed in Filipino languages, customs, and traditions. As a balikbayan, a term for a Filipino returning to the Philippines, it's about a homecoming. 

I grew up with the kitchen as a gathering ground full of aunties; its decades of memories of celebrations and potlucks with the table full of Filipino and American foods. In my interdisciplinary practice, I examine aspects of home related to identity, domestic labor, and community. My thesis exhibition, Balikbayan, aims to represent my Filipinx-American identity through the sentiments surrounding Filipino comfort foods.   

Balikbayan includes Gusto mo?, is a series of four embroidered linen napkins mounted on white translucent organza fabric stretched over a wooden hoop. The Battenburg lace whitework on the top of the napkin is similar in style to embroidery you’d find on a Barong Tagalog, a men’s traditional formal shirt. Filipino representations are Jufran Banana Sauce (or commonly called ketchup) and Sarsi Sarsaparilla Soda; American affiliations are Miracle Whip Salad Dressing and Pepsi Soft Drink.

Balikbayan also includes Kain Tayo!, a felt soft sculpture table installation of a Filipino kamayan. A kamayan is a Filipino communal feast where food is served directly on banana leaves and also refers to a Filipino method of eating with your bare hands. Growing up, I collected many stuffed animals and the soft sculptures in Kain Tayo are a tribute to childhood comforts that entertain both comfort foods and the comfort of a plush toy. 

Visibility is an important part of my artistic practice. Representing a part of my culture, community, and identity through domestic labor and many parts of my interdisciplinary art practice, like a balikbayan, is a return to what centers me back home.