Migrant experiences and lives reflected in multi-artist multimedia exhibition in Hong Kong
- An art exhibition in Hong Kong called ‘marginalia (notes from the peripheries)’ tells the stories of migrants in the city and the families they leave behind
- Comprising installations, paintings, music, film and video, and created by 18 artists and groups, it can be seen at Current Plans gallery in Wong Chuk Hang
Spread out on the gallery floor is an eclectic mix of items: packets of chocolate and pasta, face masks, a sewing machine and lots of colourful children’s toys.
Added to the mix are two cardboard boxes, one bursting open with clothes and both stamped “S.D Xpress”. But this is no courier service.
S and D are the initials of the first names of artists Sharu Binnong Sikdar and Dhafney Dela Cruz Pineda, who have unpacked childhood memories for their installation, which pays homage to their Filipino roots.
“When we were young we watched our parents pack boxes with essentials like the items you see here and they would send them to friends and family back home in the Philippines,” says Pineda.
They are called balikbayan boxes, she says, the word a portmanteau of the Tagalog words balik (to return) and bayan (homeland).