Regalos

Regalos, 2007, two empty glitter-covered Balikbayan boxes, transit, photograph, drawings, boxes: 18 x 18 x 18 in / 46 x 46 x 46 cm, photo: 16 x 20 in / 41 x 51 cm, drawings: 8 x 10 in / 20 x 25 cm

Regalos, San Francisco, California, USA, 2007, photograph, 16 x 20 inches / 41 x 51 cm

A photo of the boxes in their original state in San Francisco; also shipped and displayed in Manila.

Balikbayan (“repatriate box”) boxes at San Francisco International Airport, headed towards Manila.

Regalos (Gold) and Regalos (Silver) (installation view at Green Papaya Art Projects, Quezon City, Philippines), 2007, balikbayan boxes, glue, glitter, shipped from San Francisco, California, USA to Manila, Philippines, 18 x 18 x 18 inches / 46 x 46 x 46 cm. each. Photo courtesy Stephanie Syjuco.

Regalos (Gold) and Regalos (Silver), on the luggage carousel at the Ninoy Aquino Airport in Manila, Philippines.</p>

Regalos (Gold) and Regalos (Silver) in transit at the Ninoy Aquino Airport in Manila, Philippines.

Photo documentation of boxes’ state upon return to the US.

Untitled Regalos drawing #1, 2007, graphite on vellum, collage, 8 x 10 inches / 20 x 25 cm

This and the following drawings were reproduced and exhibited as a brochure/poster.

Untitled Regalos drawing #2, 2007, graphite on vellum, collage, 8 x 10 inches / 20 x 25 cm

Untitled Regalos drawing #3, 2007, graphite on vellum, collage, 8 x 10 inches / 20 x 25 cm

Regalos is a transit-specific work (as described by scholar Eric Estuar Reyes) inspired the idea of art as a gift, the Philippines’ overseas labor force, balikbayan boxes, and the gap between intention and material. “Regalos” is Tagalog for gift.

Regalos involves the shipment of two empty, glitter-covered balikbayan boxes to Manila. In transit, the glitter eroded, suggesting a trail to home, the link between giver and recipient, or the entropy of intention.

Part of Galleon Trade, a grassroots international arts exchange that recontextualizes historic Spanish trading routes with new forms of cultural exchange.

Caption: Christine Wong Yap, Regalos, 2007, two empty glitter-covered Balikbayan boxes, transit, photograph, drawings, boxes: 18 x 18 x 18 in / 46 x 46 x 46 cm, photo: 16 x 20 in / 41 x 51 cm, drawings: 8 x 10 in / 20 x 25 cm

Thanks to Jenifer K. Wofford, Stephanie Syjuco, Green Papaya Art Projects, Norberto Pewee Roldan and Carlos Celdran.