Overseas contract workers (OCWs), also known as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), are Philippine citizens who work abroad, under contract, for a set amount of time.
One aspect of modern Philippine culture that clearly points to the entanglements of identity and capital is the prevalence of “overseas contract work” amongst Filipinos. It also recalls historical entanglements with the United States as Spam was introduced to the Philippines in the 1940s when US troops were fighting Japanese forces during World War 2. Some goods, like the corned beef and Tocino Spam, allude to outside culinary influences and are not Philippine-made but their significance to the community and my ideation of the Philippines is enough to be included. The selection also represents the extent of availability of Philippine goods within a certain area. I specifically chose fruits, vegetables, and other goods that speak to what I miss from the Philippines. The selection of objects are also significant-I wanted to collect from whichever city I am in (in this case, Baltimore) and buy what I can from what is locally available. Presenting it as an installation within a commercial refrigerator was key to recalling modern industrial mechanisms of global commerce and exchange. I also wanted to emphasize how early colonial economies still inform modern global foodways by mimicking the look of 16th-18th European still lives that featured products from colonies and were prized for their exotic nature, novelty, and rarity. In "Still Life: Longing", I wanted to create a "still life" informed by the gaze of displacement and longing. Commercial refrigerator containing goods purchased at Baltimore H-Mart (rambutan, bangus, green papaya, jackfruit, can of corned beef, can of Tocino Spam, banana heart, mangoes, calabaza, eggplants, sugar canes, ampalaya, and banana leaves)
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