“Kumain Ka Na Papaluin Kita” (2024) is a soundwork by Silke Lapina as a comment on Mark O. Justiniani’s painting “Last Trip” (1990) which has been exhibited for the Metropolitan Museum of Manila’s ‚Sibol‘ exhibit 2024.

Kumain Ka Na Papaluin Kita (2024) Soundwork by Silke Lapina

The soundwork “Kumain Ka Na Papaluin Kita” is a reflection on the painting “Last Trip” (1990) by Mark O. Justiniani. After observing the scene in the painting without any context, what drew my attention was the necklace of the lady that looked like a golden trinity pendant to me. Coming from the visual arts, while creating a soundwork, I wondered: What would the pendant hear in this scene? Once learned the context of “Last Trip” (1990), I revisited my childhood memories of the '90s and reflected on the traces of Filipino culture I experienced growing up as a German-Filipina in Hamburg, Germany. I imagined the golden pendant to be a portal through space and time, and how this would connect the Filipino diaspora to the Philippines.

A-side:

The A-side is inspired by the format of a radio show that introduces songs before they are played. On the alternative radio station “FsK – Freies Sender Kombinat 93.0 fm / 101.4 cable“ in Hamburg / Germany, the Filipino women’s group “Philippinische-Frauengruppe Hamburg e. V.” established a monthly radioshow “Tinig Pinay Radio Program” in the '90s that still exists today. Curiously, I listened to my mother’s voice through the radio, moderating the show and playing songs for the community in Hamburg.

The format of a radio show is replaced with my sound memories. The portal of the pendant opens through a heartbeat and takes the listener from the jeepney scene of the painting to a scene in our living room in Hamburg in the '90s. While you hear endless packing tape from regular packing of Balikbayan Boxes, songs are introduced with Tagalog phrases that I’ve heard over and over again, like a mantra: “Anak, kumain ka na?”, “Marunong ka ba mag Tagalog?”, “Merong kang boyfriend?”, “Papaluin kita!”

The song selection played today might sound “baduy”– old fashioned – but have burned its emotional tone into my identity: the longing for a challenging love that unites the duality of pain and fulfillment.

1. Bakit pa – Jessa Zaragoza (1997)

2. Iris – The Goo Goo Dolls (1998)

3. Sana Ay Mahalin Mo Rin Ako – April Boys (1996)

4. Anak – Freddie Aguilar (1978) 

B-side:

On the B-side are several recordings from the Philippine Easter Mass held on March 31, 2024, with the Infinity Choir of the Filipino Catholic Mission gathered at the Church of Kleiner Michel in Hamburg. Ever since, I’ve been visiting the church with my parents.

The community of this church represents not only a spiritual home for Filipino migrants in Hamburg but also a place for information exchange, support, and advice for migrants adjusting to life in Germany, helping them find connections and a first anchor in the city. Following the reverence of the Mass, community members look forward to the gathering after the service, where a self-organized free buffet is shared, bringing people together for conversation. It is humorously said that they first pray and then proceed to sin and spread “tsismis” – gossip, which can be seen as the duality of life, but also the human nature of a community.

Special thanks to curator Erwin Romulo, Fatoni and the voices in the work including Lourdes, Tengal Drilon, Patrick Fiala, Antje and the Infinity Choir of the Filipino Catholic Mission at the Church of Kleiner Michel in Hamburg.