Baybayin “Mother Tongue”

Part of an exhibition I created for International Mother Language Day (February 21^st) in 2016. It’s significant for my work that mother tongues are recognized, celebrated and included in census questions, but mother scripts are not. For this reason, in 2024 I created World Endangered Writing Day on January 23^rd. This particular expression of the Tagalog phrase in the Baybayin script is based on hip-hop graffiti-style calligraphy by the script activist Kristian Kabuay. In flame mahogany. 

Dimensions: 29.5” x 10.5”