EMPTY ROOMS ON THE SECOND FLOOR has been my graduation project under the guidance of Göran Gnaudschun at Ostkreuzschule for Photography in Berlin.
It was part of the Jahrgang Siebzehn exhibition in September 2023.

In the Philippines, just a few of hours drive from Manila, lies a small seaside village named Mabini. Perched on a hill overlooking Mabini's bay, one can find the 'Italian Village'. Here, colorful three-story buildings, guarded by fences, make up the village. However, something feels amiss – most of these buildings are empty, and many remain unfinished. Throughout the year, Mabini is scarcely populated, with only a few inhabitants. The owners of these empty houses work and live abroad, employed by Italian families as domestic helpers and caregivers, residing thousands of kilometers away. They send monthly remittances to sustain family members back home.

I was born and raised in one of the districts in Rome with the highest demand and employment rates for foreign domestic and care workers. While my parents worked full-time, she spent my days with a Filipina babysitter, her husband, and their young daughter.

It wasn't until years later, after leaving Rome, that I truly grasped the extent of the export of Philippine labor, the diaspora of Filipinxs and their families in Italy, and her own involvement in it. Through "Empty Rooms on the Second Floor," I embark on a visual exploration of a migration that never truly concludes. A thread that geographically links the past and the future, often blurring the distinction between the two. For many overseas workers, the Philippines serves as both the starting point and the final destination. However, for young Italian-born Filipinxs, it represents either the past or the future – a parallel reality sustained within a small flat on the outskirts of Rome. This reality thrives through language, video calls, and community building.