Handle with Care

Handle with Care takes the form of a handwoven cardboard net held by a cast of my hand. Cardboard carries the language of movement: of distances crossed, of balikbayan boxes sent and received. As a woven, porous structure, it gestures toward the systems of care that tether families across borders.As global migration has increased, women from the Philippines have become central to transnational care economies, particularly in the US. Many are employed in healthcare and home care, providing essential labor to support children and the elderly. These migration flows have deep historical roots, shaped by US colonization in the Philippines, the Americanization of nursing education, and state-sponsored programs that train and recruit Filipina women to fill labor shortages in the US. The woven net stands in for these entangled care labor networks, stretched across distances and sustained through acts of care.

Materials: Discarded cardboard, duct tape, air-dry clay cast of hand
Dimensions: Varies
Date: 2025