Consuming Pork, Parading the Virgin and Crafting Origami in Tel Aviv: Filipina Care Workers' Aesthetic Formations in Insrael
Liebelt, Claudia – 2013
This article explores the sensory participation of Filipino caregivers in Israel, more specifically in the urban space of Tel Aviv. By creating a rich communal life, parading icons of the Virgin Mary through the streets, and crafting origami paper swans that have taken over urban space in all sizes, shapes and colours, migrants have created forms of aesthetic and sensual belonging in the city. I argue that their popular aesthetics are closely linked to the ironic Americanisation of a postcolonial nation, as well as to the gendered niche of caring that Filipinas occupy in the global economy. Based on the concept of "aesthetic formation", this article foregrounds the performative aspects and the central role of objects, appearances and senses in the production of community by migrants. The aesthetic formations of Filipinas in the diaspora bear witness to collective struggles and the emergence of new subjectivities beyond ethnic or cultural identities.