Project be-longing #2 1999
Installation comprising salt, household items, mementos, steel construction, scent of sampaguita flower, sound
Dimensions variable
Collection: The artists

Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan describe the aim of Project be-longing #2 as being ‘to rekindle the spirit of kinship and a sense of belonging/be-longing ... evoking memories which help define being part of a particular community.’ The work comprises household items and mementos which were borrowed from members of Brisbane’s Filipino community. The stories associated with the objects were recorded to form the sound component of the work. Contributions were sourced through local Filipino Community newsletters and collected by the Aquilizan’s Brisbane-based cousin (Ric Aqui). Some of these objects were brought to Australia from the Philippines to remind Filipino immigrants of home. The Aquilizan’s home-life is integral to their work, the artists say: ‘We have been living here for the past five years and as a result a body of work was created concerning domestic life and everyday experiences ... Our work extends beyond the confines of these doors by working with communities as well as collaborating with other artists.’

Isabel's statement:

"His name is Alfredo Juan Aquilizan. He is my husband, a father, a teacher and an artist (in that order). He is also a painter and he has a special talent of changing diapers as well as mixing milk with water. One of his pre-occupations is bringing his children to school. He hates attending Parent-Teacher meetings--though he thinks it is necessary for it is also the source of his ideas. He likes to work with readymades for his installations, since it helps him save time--so he can devote more to his family. He likes to make objects, things he can play with his children and at the same time can be hanged on museum walls. He thinks those objects are important since these are metaphors of his existence."

Alfredo's statement:

"She is a mother, a teacher and an artist. She used to do a lot of theatre work but she thinks that home making is more important at the moment. She has a special talent in cooking as well as mending "hand me down" children's clothing. She really likes going to the market for she thinks this is the all providing pot of materials as well as concepts. She also has various talents such as choosing the best stringbeans simultaneously soliciting art ideas from vendors. She says that most of the best performance she did was done in such places. Her name is Isabel, the performer, the mother of my children, my wife and my co-operator."

"We are living in a rented house we call home, it has three bedrooms, a small kitchen a 'sala' that also serve as a dining area. It is also the place where our four children were conceived. Incidentally it was always the venue of our collaborative work. We have been living here for the past five years and as a result a body of work was created concerning domestic life and everyday experiences with particular emphasis on contemporary culture. In addition, it is also where we learned to mend broken windows and hammer extra locks for the doors. Our work extends beyond the confines of these doors by working with communities as well as collaborating with other artists."

By the way, our children are growing faster than we anticipated, and we are looking forward to just doing painting, acting and remembering. But for now if you have any idea for us to work together please do not hesitate let us know. Thank you.

Just getting by,

Alfredo and Isabel

Postscript:
We know somebody who lives in Brisbane. His name is Ric Aqui and we are working together for the project "Be-longing". We asked him to hunt and gather various Filipino mementos from the households of relatives and friends in Australia because we think that collaborating on this piece will give us a good venue to know more about each other. We are still to ask him why he shortened his name, but to us he is Ricardo Aquilizan, our cousin in Australia, our collaborator.