Silver Linings
2025 | A.I.R. Gallery | USA
Materials: Artist’s handwoven net (jute and linen), imitation silver leaf, acrylic, and ink on a cradled wood panel with frame
Dimensions: 17 inches x 21 inches each
Date: 2025
About 6,000 Filipinos leave the Philippines every day. Most migrate out of necessity, to support their families and secure a better future. In a new country, many face profound economic, emotional, and cultural challenges: homesickness, unfair treatment, financial exploitation, gender-based violence, and racial discrimination. And yet, amid these hardships, they find small victories: in money sent to loved ones, or in a new word learned in another language. These become “silver linings” that ease the weight of leaving home, even if just for a moment.
Perak, the Malay term for “silver,” gave rise to the Filipino word pera, reflecting the link between this lustrous metal and the concept of value. Silver became the world’s first global currency when Spanish coins spread across continents in the 16th century, reaching the Philippines through the Manila Galleons that sailed between the islands and Acapulco during Spanish colonization.
In Silver Linings, silver is both the prize and the net that draws it in.