Overseas contract workers (OCWs), also known as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), are Philippine citizens who work abroad, under contract, for a set amount of time. These jobs offer an opportunity for higher wages from countries due to favorable exchange rates when spent in the Philippines. In addition, the Philippine government has encouraged this exportation of labor with incentives for OFWs (discount housing, etc.), thus creating one of the biggest diaspora populations today at around 11 million.

The highest proportion of OFWs are in domestic service, largely taken on by women, accounting for roughly a quarter of all OFWs. Though the Philippine government hail OFWs as “mga bagong bayani” (new heroes), largely due to their economic contribution to the Philippine economy, these positions come with a high risk of abuse and exploitation.

In Value Studies: Multo (Apparitions), I wanted to highlight the invisibility of this labor force and question how we got to this moment of large-scale exportation of Philippine labor. Additionally,  the physical absence of OFWs from their own homes and families in such a large scale is a kind of lingering loss that permeates through those left behind—creating another kind of “haunting”.  To create the images, I researched hours of YouTube content produced by OFWs in domestic service. Several OFWs would film themselves working, illuminating the extent of their labor for others wanting to become OFWs. I was able to gather enough clips of OFWs working in regions with the largest concentrations of OFWs in domestic service to create this series. Using a separate digital camera, I made these “ghostly apparitions” by doing a slow exposure of the Youtube videos.

Multo (Apparitions) Photo Series

2023
Digital prints

Maalaala Mo Kaya? (Would You Remember?) / Multo (Apparitions) Series

2025
Hair, cement blocks, light boxes with digital prints
What They Left Us, The Alchemy of Art Gallery, Baltimore, MD