Betty Yu's "Working Stories" (2019) invites us to reflect on the plight of domestic workers in their own words. Flanking a steel plaque protesting the violation of domestic workers' rights, we find two portraits of nannies who were interviewed for this project. Recordings of these individuals express their impressions and frustrations regarding the injustices they endure, such as long hours and low pay. Listening to their perspectives takes us beyond our context and grants us a genuine understanding of how their existence is compromised. Their experiences become our own at that moment, immersing us in a tangible and genuine connection to their lives. 

 

A piece that appears to emerge from the wall is Zac Hacmon's "Sentry" (2021), a marble lobby pillar adorned with a red fire extinguisher, which, at first glance, resembles a doorman attired in a red coat uniform. The person's voice emanating from the pillar's air vent (located beneath the fire extinguisher) belongs to artist Hernando Restrepo, a doorman himself during the day. With Restrepo's voice, Hacmon infuses the industrial, rigid structure with a distinctly human essence. On the wall beyond the structure, Restrepo features "In the Realm of Thoughts" (2023)—a trompe l'oeil artwork depicting postcards taped to the wall—a restrained and dignified homage to his hometown of Cartagena. Restrepo's painting also reveals his ongoing fascination with linear patterns. The seemingly chaotic and overlapping letters at the bottom of the painting, some in English and some in Spanish aspire to a more open and airy imagining of the future, symbolized by the lovingly detailed images of clouds and water—an artistic representation in and of itself.

 

Abang-guard (Jevijoe Vitug + Maureen Catbagan) presents "No More 24! May Day" (2023) "Tapestry," a creative reinterpretation of the tapestry "The Unicorn In Captivity," envisioning caregivers protesting being rounded up. Vitug and Catbagan work as security guards at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, motivating them to incorporate the museum language in their work. The caregivers' captivity lies in their exploitation as foreign commodities, akin to the Unicorn's original depiction. Caring for the infirm represents a vital and humane service in our society, making the corporate and political exploitation of caregivers a distortion and corruption of their innocent intent to provide compassionate care amidst their daily, challenging, thankless, and underappreciated duties.

 

Abang-guard's "Care Guardian" (2023) creates an Anti-Slot Machine featuring an overworked healthcare worker represented as a golden sculpture, pushing an infirm person in a wheelchair. The sculpture has hit a negative Jackpot of partially corroded or oxidized pennies, symbolizing the meager wages of many healthcare workers, often off the books and barely worth more than the contents of a bedpan. This evocative artwork is housed within a clear glass display case, juxtaposing the presentation of an old painting style and a sculpture with the museum's vernacular, effectively communicating the injustice memorably and artfully.

 

"Invisible Hands" opened with "Clean Labor" (2023), a powerful and graceful performance choreographed by Brendan Fernandes. In this performance, dancers Tiffany Mangulabnan and Billy Cannon dressed in disposable paint suits cleaned the gallery with rhythm and improvisation, emphasizing the physical work of domestic workers compared to the physical strain on the dancers' bodies.

 

This group show, curated by Emireth Herrera Valdes, highlights the unseen yet vital and perhaps even mystical enablers of the hierarchical machine that fuels our society. These workers are the silent pillars upholding our culture, yet regrettably, they often lack the ostensible appreciation or acknowledgment from the ruling class of their indispensable role. 

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Images Courtesy of 601Artspace / Go Sugimoto. 

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