SKIN DEEP MAGAZINE • 75are severely under- and misrepresented in many fields
compared to the scope of our presence and contribution.
The tattoo world is no different.”
Part of the problem lies in who is claiming traditional
techniques and designs as their own. “When non-POC
[people of colour] want to position themselves as experts
or somehow spiritually connected, without the perspec-
tive of lived experience, the resulting appropriation can
be damaging and misguided, no matter the intention,”
she reasons. “It can actively displace, erase and take fi-
nancial opportunities and resources from people within
those communities who historically already have less op-
portunity or confidence to enter certain spaces and fields
to begin with.”
“I don’t know that I can personally claim to be preserv-
ing anything when so much has already been lost, and I
still have so much to learn, but it’s important that people
of colour regain control of their respective narratives and
modern evolution of culture,” she adds. “I don’t come to
this lightly. Without everything I’ve learned though my
own community’s love and support, my experience as a
mixed-race Canadian, I wouldn’t be in a position to do
this. I still question all the time how to navigate this work.”
That’s because she wants to pay tribute the right way. “I
don’t want my work to be misinterpreted as a one-dimen-
sional celebration of tradition for thoughtless consump-
tion,” she says. “It is an outlet and offering for Kapisanan,
for my community, trying to return the deep gratitude I
feel. It’s an acknowledgement of the work we are doing to
heal generational trauma.”MEETING WITH WHANG-OD
102-year-old Apo Whang- Od might just be the Philip-
pines’ most famed tattoo artist. In early 2018, Fiddy had
the opportunity to visit Whang- Od’s Butbut Tribe in Bus-
calan, Kalinga and received two pieces from the legendary
tattooer, as well as one from her niece, Grace. As memora-
ble as the trip was, however, Fiddy’s the first to admit that
the experience sparked two opposing emotions.
“The word I’ve had to use most often lately is ‘conflict-
ing,’” she starts. “As much as it is a beautiful and mean-
ingful experience for me and many others, capitalism and
Western interest has changed it, has changed people’s ex-
pectations of the experience.”
“Of course I support the revival and the resources it
has brought to the Butbut and Buscalan, but the indus-
try needs to operate on their own terms and that’s slowly
being corrupted,” she elaborates. “Tourists not really re-
specting the space and personhood of the artists or other
people in the community, littering everywhere. It’s pow-
erful and happy and sad all at once.”
Asked if she and Whang- Od had a chance to talk about
tattooing, she says, “A little bit — language is definitely a
limiting factor in my case.” As for what the centenarian
is really like, Fiddy says, “Ever since her story and image