InstallationDVD PAL, 4:3, One channel video, color, sound
1 Flatscreen, 1 framed letter
I once came to Hongkong to visit my aunt and to shoot a shortfilm about her. She works there as a filipina domestic helper. Unfortunately it was not possible for me to visit her in the appartement, where she stays and works fulltime. She said: „My employers don’t like anybody to come to their appartement, because it’s not modern and presentable enough for them.“ Between these lines I recognize her respect and integrity towards her employers.
Half a year later: out of her own decision she bought her own videocamera and decided to shoot her surroundings herself. Everything seems to be in the right moment for this – the employers were planning to renovate their appartement, so nothing would be like that anymore. In order to respect the employer’s family she asked me to edit all family pictures, which are shown in the video (blackspaces).
The result of this is a intimate approach to her working and living space in Hongkong. It is a visual approach about the ethics of image-making, a reflection about philippine identity abroad and it's feeling of alienation. It is also about how power relations are interconnected with private space.
