Fleet (Mackay)

This small sculpture by Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan depicts a boat on which numerous tiny cardboard houses have been arranged to form a mast and a sail. The dwellings all vary in design, some are simple rectangular boxes with roofs, while others have been constructed with what seem to be satellite disks, swimming pools, wells, and fountains.  

As a material, cardboard evokes notions of migration and displacement -- referencing the Balikbayan Boxes used by Filipino migrant workers to ship their personal belongings -- and the challenges of integrating into a different culture and society. The work raises questions about the idea of home as well as identity and belonging for millions of migrants around the world. Put together with wire, wood, and glue, these cardboard abodes appear rickety and fragile but they also convey resilience, resourcefulness, and environmental sustainability. This is further underscored by the ingenious use of a wooden crate that doubles as a plinth to transport, store, and display the sculpture.The title of the work refers to the city of Mackay in Queensland, Australia where the artists mounted a large-scale community project and art installation in 2019. The materials used in Fleet: Mackay, (2019) were recycled and repurposed from that earlier installation.