Have you watched Nimona? Whenever she used her wings I couldn’t help but be reminded of Tik-tik from the story “Si Kalipay” by Christina Newhard and Happy Garaje. Tik-tik is Cebuano for a spirit or creature similar to the Tagalog Manananggal, which flies without legs! Hashtag Nimona-nananggal! Here she is in pre-colonial Visayan attire, inspired by a class I attended held by Karakoa Productions based in Cebu. She’s decked out in gold, with kasikas or arm bands, a kamagi chain worn as a sash, a lambong top, a bakus or belt Batman would be jealous of, and a heavy taklay or gold necklace. I loved how she transformed into different animals in the film, so I imagined her here shapeshifting into different Philippine wildlife, and used different Philippine scripts to write their names. Lots of things going on here, which is how I saw Nimona. She is everything, everyone, all at once, and still, Nimona! Read more about the film, and my art, in my latest blog post: https://filipeanut.art/pre-colonial-bisaya-nimona-with-shapeshifting-philippine-animals/
