Sakripisyo, 2016
Installation
Installation
Sakripisyo (Sacrifice) is about Filipina caregivers in the diaspora and the stereotype of Filipinas being nurses and nannies. By using ordinary objects like the tabo, a dipper which is an essential companion to Filipinos' toilets for washing, her mother's scrub, an envelope, and a photograph of her aunt, Abuel confronts the everyday struggle of caregivers that become forgotten.
Caregivers are told to embody the words on her mother's scrub like joy, compassion, healing, and hope even though many caregivers feel the exact opposite of those because of the demanding nature of their work. The tabo represents the physical struggle of caregivers as they must care for others including washing and feeding them. The envelope with a photograph of her aunt on her graduation day of nursing school represents the emotional struggle of caregivers as letters suggest distance and the age of the photograph show how long caregivers stay dedicated to their work to provide for their families to the point of moving to another country away from them.
Caregivers are told to embody the words on her mother's scrub like joy, compassion, healing, and hope even though many caregivers feel the exact opposite of those because of the demanding nature of their work. The tabo represents the physical struggle of caregivers as they must care for others including washing and feeding them. The envelope with a photograph of her aunt on her graduation day of nursing school represents the emotional struggle of caregivers as letters suggest distance and the age of the photograph show how long caregivers stay dedicated to their work to provide for their families to the point of moving to another country away from them.
