Rosa is the caretaker of a family house in the Philippines. She likes to create her own solutions for lacking or broken households items.

When lola (grandma in Tagalog), the original inhabitant of the house, was still alive she would ask Rosa to repair and mend broken items instead of replacing them. Having more time when she was the only one living in the house, (because the family moved to Manila and abroad), Rosa started being more creative in making her own household solutions, which resulted in little gems like the coconut scraper and the fly swapper.

I’m often appalled by how easy we regard products as unfixable or useless. The fact it’s often cheaper or easier to replace a product instead of fixing it not only adds to environmental pollution and turns us into mindless consumers but I find it also a sign of how we value our surroundings.

In my work I often focus on material culture since the products and goods we use and surround ourselves with are a good symbol of the type of lives we lead. In lola’s case her house reminds me of a time portal to forgotten times.

About Nadine Stijns

I work on long-term photographic projects fuelled by my curiosity for socio-economic and/ or political situations. Topics such as labor migration in a global economic system, diaspora communities and national identity in post-colonial regions fascinate me and inform my projects.

My visual language adapts to the story that I want to tell: a method I translate to exhibitions, in which larger than life pictures, loose posters, maps and spatial installations can all be found. Through this particular artistic process, my presentations often result in site- specific installations.

In the past, I have worked intensively with graphic designers and fashion designers, these experiences enrich my current practice, which has a more documentary starting point. [Official Website]