United by Words, Divided by Walls, 2021

During the pandemic, Oriente tried commuting across Metro Manila to respond to the exhibition’s theme firsthand. She photographed writing on walls, some from inside a jeepney and some after getting off: graffiti, handwritten notes, jokes, grievances, political jabs. Six photographs are printed on acrylic glass and mounted off the wall at slight angles, echoing the plastic barriers put up between jeepney passengers. The barriers made talking to anyone harder, and lockdown kept people behind the walls of their homes. Messages left in public were still getting through.