Search for Life I is the first work in a diptych that explores themes of migration, labour, diaspora, and technology through tracing shipping routes used by Spanish conquistadors after the colonization of the Philippines. The work explores contemporary global maritime cargo movements, as well as the vital role of Filipino seafarers. The stories are told by interwoven voices of various figures, including the historian Guadalupe Pinzón Ríos; Philippine butterfly specialist Aster T. Badon; Michael John Díaz and painter Joar Songcuya, both Filipino seafarers; a boy named Simón from Michoacán, Mexico; and the voice of the monarch butterfly.