The work is a monumental piece of the Filipino community, celebrating the diasporic culture that is created when adapting to the UK. My work explores the journey and experiences of members in the Filipino community in London and the diaspora created to celebrate their culture. This piece features traditional Filipino tribal patterns to reflect on the chosen subject matters of the work, alongside are crochet nets that cradle the fabric–covered boxes which symbolises the support system that is created while traveling to the UK, this is closely related to the topic of exotic fruits being imported to the UK as they go through a journey of travelling to another country. The fruits undergo processes to adapt to its new environment– which is somewhat of a similar experience to the migration of ethnic minorities in the UK. There are details on the boxes that signify the cultural significance of the Philippines, through the vibrant embroidery which emphasises the logos of popular food brands; this is created to also celebrate these food brands that originated from the Philippines. This explores a sense of familiarity between the work and its target audience as these brands are not as popular in the UK compared to Southeast Asian countries, however, through the embroidered texts on the cardboard boxes, it informs the viewers about the brands and the cultural significance associated to the work. The sculpture includes cardboard boxes that were sourced from a place in London, called Earl’s Court, where there are multiple Filipino supermarkets, restaurants, and communities. Through the research of the chosen location, there has been a repetition of members within the Filipino community mentioning their shared experiences with churches; through these conversations, there has been an increase amongst most Filipinos in the UK belonging to a church community, furthermore, creating a shared history amongst most Filipino individuals when adapting to the UK.
