GEDO106 - SEC 75
Antonio | Comon | Encomienda | Ladra | Panganiban | Sitson | Wyche
VISUAL ANALYSIS PAPER
D.H. (Domestic Helper) by Elmer Borlongan
Introduction
A painting could represent a multitude of different advocacies and a variety of different
perspectives. These aspects are well known components of artistic endeavors made to raise awareness and
call upon a person’s humanity when gazing upon the art made from those endeavors. In recent years, the
Philippines has garnered a reputation as one of the countries that deploy a considerable amount of its
workers overseas (OFWs). A notable subgroup in those deployed are that of domestic helpers, of which
there is an unfortunate culture of abuse between them and their employers. A notable painting that
represents this struggle is the creation of the Filipino contemporary painter, Elmer Borlongan, in 1993,
entitled "Domestic Helper (D. H.).” Painted with acrylic on canvas, featured are two partially blurred
ladies sitting on chairs prominently placed beside one another in the middle of the painting. This piece
was crafted to address one of the more prominent social issues at the time: the abuse experienced by
predominantly female domestic helpers at the hand of their foreign employers (Borlongan, 1993).
Unfortunately, this is a situation that still happens because of the prospect of human trafficking, a lack of
proper safeguards for overseas workers, issues with women's rights, and the culture of overseas workers
having to be in positions of servitude.
Thesis Statement
● "Domestic Helper (D. H.).” demonstrates how the oppression of the Domestic Filipino workers is
a phenomenon that has long since been a fixture in connotations that follow a certain group of
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
○ The emotion that this piece can inspire can range from sadness and fear both rooting from
sympathy and empathy, respectively.
○ There is an aspect of the piece that depicts a sense of resignation in the eyes of these
women because of the state of women’s and overseas workers' security. There is a
message that can be gleaned where these individuals are taking solace in one another
because of a lack of safeguards that should be in place to protect their autonomy at the
time.
○ The painting calls upon every viewer to essentially be the missing feet of these women
that don’t have the ability to walk away from their dire situation.
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Body
Elmer Borlongan is the artist behind the painting which was first officially exhibited in 1993 and
is currently located at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan. The art style employed is figurative
expressionism and it is a relatively large piece measuring 152.8 x 153.2 cm (around 5 ft by 5ft). The piece
in question depicts the horrors domestic workers endure, and the canvas serves to memorialize these
incidents. The degradation of disempowered Filipinas in the dynamic economic power structures of the
countries in Southeast Asia is something that is condemned through this painting. Additionally, it offers
an honest remark on the state of women's rights back in the 1990s (Borlongan, 1993).
In the piece, there are two women with disfigured faces with the most notable feature being the
complete absence of their mouths. This is most probably a direct depiction of how these women feel
helpless, voiceless, and without agency in the poolside homes of their wealthy foreign employers. Both
women are sporting black eyes, gaunt figures, and bruised arms. Given those details, it is undoubtedly
highlighting the slew of physical assaults that these women are no strangers to experiencing. Furthermore,
their eyes morph depending on how one views their expression. The one on the left, with her rounder
eyes, depicts a milder disposition, but the smudge on top of her eyes that looks like an eyebrow changes
her look—is she being inquisitive or just observing? The woman on the left bears sharper eyes and
appears as if she has something to say, imploring the viewer to do something, anything.
Looking deeper into these details allows these implications to become more expansive in nature.
The expression in their eyes which are looking almost directly at the viewer, could at first be mistaken for
resolute expressions, but it becomes clear from their slightly guarded yet open sitting positions that this
look is one of resignation. This is a detail that is also evident in their hands placed on the chair slightly
gripped yet lax. Indeed, there is this sense of resignation to the fact that their dignity, their autonomy, their
rights are slowly being stripped away no matter how much they hold on to their resolute predispositions.
The painting falls under figurative expressionism, where the artist bears a responsibility as a witness that
uses the reality of violence, corruption, and injustice as a reference in their artistic endeavors (Tate, 2017).
This responsibility was indeed fulfilled by the artist, Elmer Borlongan.
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An important piece of context for this piece is that the service industry flourished in the 1980s
and 1990s, and women started to emigrate from the Philippines to fill domestic and caregiving positions
in developed nations and other parts of Asia. Since then, multiple accounts of murder, abuse, and
mistreatment of mostly female domestic workers have made the headlines (Santos, 2014). In 1993, the
year the piece was made public, these cases were not as prominent. Throughout the passage of time, this
painting has become a testament to the ongoing and relentless endangerment of our country’s migrant
workers.
As for how the piece utilizes the principles of art, it can be observed that there are only a few
symmetrical lines in the painting, and the style seems to heavily rely on uneven strokes, especially in the
background. However, the lines that shape the figures are blended to create a sense of realism and evokes
a more painterly manner of sculpting out figures. Most of the elements in the painting are curved, from
the windows to the swimming pool and even to the strokes the artist used, but because of that, our eyes
naturally focus on the two chairs, which are mostly made in straight rigid lines—a deviation that makes
the viewer focus more on the two women. Also, some prominent shapes are the concaves and other
circular shapes used to form the doors, the swimming pool, and the uneven cylindrical wire behind them.
Even the women are constructed with curved lines which could be chalked down to the artist adhering to
the rules of human anatomy. The ladies are also seated in such a way that when tracing their position, it
forms a sort of warped cylinder that expands as it descends, likely to contribute to the perspective point
that the artist is working from.
When it comes to how the aspect of colors was utilized, cool tones were used in the background
with warmer tones on the figure to provide emphasis. Overall, the colors are slightly desaturated to
contribute to the somber tone. Shades of yellow and blue serve to contrast the backgrounds of each
woman. More specifically, on the left side, the light emitting from inside the house is yellow. On the right,
the evening sky is a dark blue. The lighting emulated by the dominating shades creates a tense and
chilling mood that encapsulates the horrors of abuse and helplessness.
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Speaking of emphasis, the lights from the house behind the ladies, illuminating and highlighting
the piece’s focal point: the two women seated. Borlongan (1993), stated that they are restricted from
communication, and any retaliation is forbidden, as seen in how their nonexistent mouths are prominently
displayed. Based on the lighting, it appears as if they are in the foreground nearer to the illuminated
patio-esque area and further from the night scenery in the background. This serves to exemplify the
artist’s ability to effectively manipulate both emphasis and perspective using various aspects of the
principles in art. The artist also appeared to be trying to fit all the women’s body parts in the piece, except
for their feet, perhaps emphasizing that there is no way for them to walk away. In addition to that, the
employed perspective orients the women towards the viewer with the piece being cut off before the feet
because perhaps their way of walking away comes down to the viewer taking action for them.
The chair's texture reveals a pattern similar to that of a piece of rattan furniture. At the same time,
Borlongan indicated that it is also one of the remembrances of the Spanish colonial period in the
Philippines that is present in his work. It is curious that they are most likely in a foreign location and yet
sitting on a type of furniture that the Philippines is recognized for. Perhaps this plays into the
interpretation that the fate of these women rests upon the efforts of those from their motherland. Despite
this, the figures appear to be rigid, motionless, and almost constrained to their position with the way that
they are seated; which could be pertaining to the fact that cases of abuse such as theirs were not as
documented back then.
The artist has created both a sense of unity and chaos as he painted with unblended textures in the
background as if they were still undone or forming themselves into cohesion. At the same time, it makes
sense why it is this way. His technique was to portray a surreal type of visual art through realism
combined with dream-like imagery. It is also where his use of acrylics to accentuate the colors comes in
handy. It is one of the only paints that could successfully achieve his techniques since it also offers a more
saturated and opaque appearance, unlike watercolors, for example, that do not have the same effect.
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There is also a balance that lies in the women located on both sides of the art despite the fact that
it is not perfectly symmetrical especially with the contrasting halves of the background. Furthermore,
there might be reasons why the artist decided to employ two figures instead of one. First, is the fact that
these women probably only had one another to take solace in at the time. The other reason can be spotted
in the details of their faces. It's noticeable that the woman on the right has a nose, more defined features,
is father from the house’s interior, and a more rigid position as compared to the woman on the left. This
could be interpreted as her having the ability to gain more agency because she is technically further from
the level of confinement that the other woman is in.
As for how the elements are proportioned, because of the perspective employed, the figures take
up more space on the canvas. It looks like it is from the point of view of someone standing in front of
these ladies, but it does not follow the standard perspective of how one would look— as if something is
off. Maybe because the perspective looks odd it is because the upper half of the women’s body indicates
that the viewer is staring right at them, as if them and the viewer are at the same height, while the lower
half of their body indicates that the viewer is staring from above, as if taller than the figures. This
connects to what was mentioned earlier — the viewer has more agency in the situation than the figures
do. The aforementioned use of perspective also plays into the artist's use of rhythm wherein he created a
method for viewers to first gaze at the two women because they are the focal point of this masterpiece,
and then to observe the women's appearance from top to bottom. The next best approach to look at this
artwork is to inspect its background, which plays a significant role in expressing the artwork's message. In
this way, the condition of women is highlighted, and the entire piece is given a direction for where the
viewer is supposed to look.
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Conclusion
"Domestic Helper (D. H.)" offers a look into the bleak situation of domestic workers at the hands
of abusive employers back in the 1990s, which is a depiction that unfortunately still resonates to this day.
When gazing upon the artwork, there is a palpable sense of resignation, imploration, a loss of agency, and
suffering in general. The artwork is made to be unsettling and visceral, as if to tell the viewer that
something is not right; from the expression on these women’s faces, the way they are seated, and the
distinct lack of some features. The muddied tones used with contrasted lighting enhance the somber
atmosphere of the piece. Furthermore, the perspective employed by the artist really allows the viewer to
connect with these figures as if one is looking at them directly yet from a noticeably elevated position.
Figurative expressionism hinges on the condition that a piece maintains a tether to the real world
throughout the emotional stylings embossed onto the canvas (Tate 2017). This condition is fulfilled in the
painting, specifically through the eyes, the body language, the decision to use two figures, and the
decision to omit the figures’ mouths and feet. The eyes are marred with the feeling of resignation and yet
tinged with the message of earnestly calling upon the viewer to help them. Their bodies are on edge yet
poised, which connects to how these individuals must be on guard while performing their duties. The use
of two figures was done so to express that in a world where their rights as women and as workers are
being disregarded, these women only had each other to take solace in. The omissions are where we can
glean the most because it is a clear message for the fact that these women do not have the mouths or the
ability to speak out, nor do they have the feet or the agency to walk away from their employers.
Every single element in the piece denotes a sense of intention, as if every single turn in this
labyrinth of details will lead you to an interpretation that adds to the foundational message of the artwork.
If one takes the time to traverse each path of interpretation, then they will know that this painting is not
only a testament to the many horrors endured by these domestic helpers, but it is also a call for the viewer
to take action and advocate for the rights of these people.
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References
Borlongan, E. (1993). D.H. (Domestic Helper). [painting]. Dallas Museum of Art; Fukuoka,
Japan; Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.
Santos, A. (2014, July 11). Philippines: A History of Migration. Pulitzer Center.
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/philippines-history-migration
Tate. (2017). Figurative art | Tate. Tate.
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/f/figurative-art#:~:text=Figurative%20art%20descri
bes%20any%20form,particularly%20to%20the%20human%20figure
