DISCOVERING WHANG OD & BATOK TATTOO

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Wednesday, 07th February
JULIE TOLENTINO: WHANG OD & BATOK TATTOOING

JULIE TOLENTINO: WHANG OD & BATOK TATTOOING

LEFT TO RIGHT: PHOTOS BY LARS KRUTAK, PHOTOS BY JAKE VERZOSA

How did you first discover Whang Od and the Filipino Batok tattooing tradition?
I was awarded an Art Matters fellowship to support new performance work exploring the imprints of otherness and the impact of connection, aging and memory onto one’s own body and voice. My partner and I travelled to the Philippines.

Inspired by our upcoming journey, Alex Binnie, artist and owner of London’s Into You Tattoo, introduced me to Lars Krutak’s books on Batok (also called patik, fatek and batek) arts, dating back to the 16th century. To commemorate our journey, Alex tattooed a streamlined freehand centipede, the Kalinga tribe’s fiercest warrior symbol, scrolling from my left bicep down to my wrist.

In Manila, we met Filipino photographer, Jake Verzosa, represented by Silverlens Gallery in Makati, whose black and white oversized images of the Kalinga women were displayed in the Quezon Memorial Circle Park in 2011. He and his wife were incredibly helpful in the final research stage.

We invited fellow mestiza (‘mestiza/o’ is a term identifying mixed heritage) and Filipino-American Fulbright scholar, Vanessa Fixmer-Oraiz to join us and take part of this once-in-a-lifetime pursuit to meet Whang Od.

August 2012