Nicolei Buendia Gupit’s baka sakali
Translated by Pier-2 Art Residency
In her solo exhibition baka sakali, Filipina-American multidisciplinary artist Nicolei Buendia Gupit presents a poignant meditation on migration, memory, and survival. The exhibition draws from personal stories gathered from Filipino communities in Kaohsiung and Taipei as the inspiration for a multi-layered sculptural installation. Through a combination of in-person and remote interviews, as well as online surveys, Gupit engages with Filipino migrants in Taiwan to uncover the reasons behind their departure from the Philippines and to document the objects they brought with them. These personal belongings hold not only practical value in a new country but also deep emotional significance. Spilling onto the gallery floor from an open suitcase, the objects—recreated using paper, air-dry clay, and pigment—become vessels of memory and migration, speaking to the emotional and material realities of displacement.
Suspended above the viewer, an ocean-blue fishing net evokes the longing that drives so many to leave home: the hope for a brighter future. Like casting a net into the sea, migration is an act of faith: an unpredictable and often risky pursuit, shaped by dreams as much as by survival. The wider the cast, the greater the possibility of return, yet nothing is guaranteed. The fishing net captures the bittersweet tension at the heart of migration: a condition that is at once precarious and aspirational.
baka sakali reflects the broader contexts of migration from the Philippines, shaped by high unemployment, worsening socioeconomic and environmental conditions, and political instability at home. These forces—deeply intertwined with global capitalism, climate change, and the lingering legacies of Western colonization—continue to drive Filipinos abroad in search of more stable futures. In Taiwan, many Filipinos seek employment across various sectors, including manufacturing, caregiving, domestic work, fisheries, and education. According to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, over 160,000 overseas Filipinos were working in Taiwan as of January 2025.
Through sculpture, installation, and storytelling, Nicolei Buendia Gupit’s body of work in baka sakali foregrounds the lived experiences of Filipino migrants in Taiwan, narratives too often flattened by economic statistics or erased from policy debates. By centering personal stories, the exhibition resists abstraction and reminds us that behind every cast line is a story of endurance, longing, and human complexity.
菲裔美籍跨領域藝術家Nicolei Buendia Gupit在駐村成果展《也許可能》當中，從高雄與台北菲律賓社群的口述故事中汲取靈感，創作出層次豐富的雕塑裝置作品，展現她對跨境勞動、記憶與生存議題的深刻反思。藝術家透過實體與遠端訪談以及線上問卷與菲律賓移工交流，探詢他們離鄉背井的原因，並記錄他們帶來台灣的重要物品，而這些受訪者描述的私人物件，不僅在異地生活中具有實用價值，也蘊含情感意義。Nicolei Buendia Gupit以紙張、風乾黏土與顏料等質樸且深具觸感的材料，翻模重現這些物品，它們從一只打開的行李箱中溢出，化作記憶與遷徙經驗的載體，每一件都訴說著離散的情感與現實處境，交織成一座充滿夢想、犧牲與韌性的雕塑檔案庫。
展場中懸掛在觀者上方的一張海藍色漁網，象徵驅使無數人離家的深切渴望──對美好未來的期盼，正如撒網入海，跨境勞動是一種信念的行動，也是一段在夢想與生存之間，穿越未知與風險的旅程，網撒得越廣，回鄉的可能性或許越大，但不一定就會如此。在此展覽中，撒網動作成為一個無助與韌性的有力象徵，呈現出移工面對不穩定的處境時，既焦慮不安又滿懷鬥志的心理張力。
展覽《也許可能》反映出廣泛的經濟性人口遷徙背景，包括菲律賓的高失業率、惡化的社會經濟與環境條件，以及政治不穩，這些推力與全球資本主義、氣候變遷以及西方殖民遺緒緊密交織，使得菲律賓人持續遠赴他國尋求更穩定的未來。在台灣，許多菲律賓人投入製造業、看護、家務、漁業及教育等工作，根據馬尼拉經濟文化辦事處（MECO）統計，截至 2025 年 1 月，在台菲律賓移工已超過 16 萬人。
《也許可能》以明晰的眼光和悲憫之心，正視身處異鄉的脆弱，在台菲律賓移工的故事被簡化為經濟數據，或在政策辯論中遭到抹殺，藝術家透過雕塑、裝置與敘事，突顯移工真實的生活經驗，展覽聚焦於個人物件與私密的生命歷史，拒絕抽象的藝術再現，同時也提醒我們：在每一條撒出的線背後，都有一段關於堅持、渴望與複雜人性的故事。
Nicolei Buendia Gupit extends her deepest gratitude to each person who shared their profound insights that inspired the works in the exhibition, including Ysa Santos, Al Garcia, Maureen Betita, Nelson Punzalan, Carl Adrian Lim, John Marion Bañas, Gideon De Guzman, Khim O. Munda, John Paul Castillo Veneracion, the Manila Economic & Cultural Office (MECO) Kaohsiung, Atty. Cheloy Garafil, MNSA, and others who request to remain anonymous.
Special thanks to 駁二藝術特區 the Pier-2 Art Center, and 南洄映画 SouthLink Film.