Balikbayan Box

Balik is to return and bayan is country. These 80-litre boxes are shipped daily to the islands by Filipino diaspora from all over the world. The boxes return in place of people who are unable to do so. The boxes provide care that cannot be provided in person. Balikbayan Box is a sound and visual device that plays with childhood memories and the fantasy of returning to a place that no longer exists.

Gemma Ferreón Rivera
 

Gemma Ferreón Rivera is a photographer and social and cultural anthropologist. Originally from the province of Pangasinan, Philippines, she has lived in Barcelona since her childhood. For almost a decade, she has been co-driver of collectives and projects focused on the Filipino and Asian diaspora, such as Catàrsia and Espai Kapwa. She focuses her work on researching and making visible the pre-colonial and anti-colonial history and resistance of the islands, as well as exploring issues around migration, care work and childhood. She is currently working on the first archive of the Filipino diaspora at the local level, on different individual and collective literary projects, and on a project of artistic critical pedagogy for elementary school students.