Between Roots And Horizons

Art and Culture

Jan 7

Words Amanda Juico Dela Cruz
Photo Clefvan Pornela
(courtesy of Ateneo Art Gallery)
January 7, 2025

Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan, “Nothing to Declare”, 2024, mixed media (personal belongings)

The wardrobe stood by the entrance of the exhibition space at the second floor of the Ateneo Art Gallery. Its doors were wide open, revealing the personal belongings of Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan.

On the left panel, Alfredo’s possessions were neatly arranged, while the right side belonged to Isabel. Both sides told stories of their lives, of migration, and of memory.

Isabel and Alfredo Aquilizan, *Foreigners: Project Another Country*, 2021, mixed media (artist personal belongings, Australian oak wardrobe with mirror, Mabini painting, guava tree branch, red circular carpet).

Alfredo’s side kept a white uniform embroidered with “LOS BAÑOS,” possibly a memento from his days teaching at the University of the Philippines and the Philippine High School for the Arts.

There was also a box of WWII Ground Vehicle Set released by Academy in 1999. The box showed signs of age with its corners creased and worn. Books filled the space: Militia, Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (noting his “Jr.” on the cover), Australia: A Nation of Immigrants, Beautiful Calligraphy, a Filipino dictionary, Living and Working in Australia, Kapwa: The Self in the Other by Katrin de Guia, The Awful Australian, Under Three Flags by Benedict Anderson, and Between the Homeland and the Diaspora by S. Lily Mendoza. Interspersed among the books were shoes, satchels, a pile of CDs, and various plastic containers filled with anik-aniks.

Isabel’s side was much like Alfredo’s. Shoes, clothes, CDs, organizer boxes, and shawls filled the space, along with a Santo Niño figure and a Christmas ornament. Her books ranged from Urban Theatre Projects reflecting her work as a performance artist and teacher at the Philippine High School for the Arts, to Florante at Laura and Dreams. There was an astrology book titled Libra: Your Personal Horoscope, and another dictionary but in English. A coffee table book on Yves Saint Laurent by David Teboul sat proudly within her belongings. There was also Why Men Don’t Listen & Women Can’t Read Maps tucked carefully at the bottom of the wardrobe as if it were a secret.

The wardrobe installation titled “Foreigners: Project Another Country” was a refraction of the Aquilizans’ lives. It contained the items they brought with them when they moved to Australia in 2003. These were objects that embodied their migration journey. The wardrobe itself was crafted from Australian oak, a native hardwood, with roots from a guava tree, an invasive species now naturalized in the country. The guava roots crawled out from the bottom of Isabel’s side, symbolizing both the integration and intrusion of new elements into their lives. These objects were not just material possessions, but pieces of their history—memories embedded in the physical space. The wardrobe acted as a repository for these memories as the couple attempted to root themselves in their new homeland. The installation wasn’t just autobiographical. It was also socio-political, reflecting Australia’s complex identity as a country built on immigration and colonial history.