UFOs (Unloved Filipino Objects), 2024—ongoing

UFOs (Unloved Filipino Objects) is a photographic record of items I’ve gathered at local estate sales and dug out of thrift bins in St. Louis while looking for things related to my family artifacts. Some objects I found in the homes of former US soldiers. Others had been discarded and were en route to the landfill, buried under broken Christmas trees and American refuse. For now, these objects live with me. It has become an experiment in organizing my own collection outside of an institutional framework, as well as a study of how these things arrived here through war, migration, tourism, or chance.

This page is organized chronologically with the most recent finds listed first and will be updated regularly. Relevant items are also crosslisted on the Philippine Village Historical Site collection page. Kindly do not share images without my permission.

Two paintings that look like home. Unsigned. Mid to late 20th century. 11 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches. Found 11/10/25.

Basket woven from nito vines, spiral design with scalloped edge. Mid to late 20th century. Found 10/27/25.

Six woven rattan baskets, varying designs. Mid to late 20th century. Found 10/16/25.

Love does not consist of gazing at each other but in looking outwards in the same direction. — Handprinted card produced by political detainees in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya with a quote from Saint-Exupéry. Likely 1960s-1980s. Found 8/21/25.

Woven bamboo basket, possibly for storing garlic or ginger. Mid-20th century. Found 8/20/25.

Miniature sinamay hats, flowers, and fans with a ‘Made in Philippines’ sticker. Late 20th century to early 2000s. Found 8/7/25.

Souvenir miniature nipa hut ornament with hang tag. Late 20th century. Found 7/21/25.

Igorot kulikug, a woven rattan basket used for storing cho-om, or pinipig (roasted, pounded rice). Early to mid-20th century. Found 7/16/25.

Tiruray/Teduray monom biton basket from Mindanao. Bamboo, rattan, and nito vines. Mid-20th century. Found 8/31/24.

Oval-shaped bilao with star pattern. Date unknown, likely mid-20th century. Found 8/10/24.

Pair of large, egg-shaped bamboo nesting bilao. Date unknown, likely mid-20th century. Found 8/10/24.

Color illustration print of the Igorot Village during the 1904 World’s Fair, produced for the *St. Louis Post-Dispatch* on June 5, 1904. Found 7/20/24.

Handcarved wooden bilao with banana leaf. Date unknown, likely mid to late 20th century. Found 6/4/25.

Souvenir bahay kubo in a bottle. First object I found in the basement of a house at an estate sale on 3/29/24.

Identification Sources and Further Reading:

Kulikug: Museo Kordilyera collections

Political detainee art: Shackled Art

Tiruray/Teduray basketry: Monom—Teduray weaving tradition