Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

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Colourful illustration of a woman sitting in a clam shell, reminiscent of Botticelli's Birth of Venus. She has dark brown skin and long flowing black hair, and wears a yellow wrap that leaves her back and arms exposed. Along her back and arms are intricate tattooed patterns — Batok, as described in this post's caption. Her eyes are closed and she has an expression of peace or joy as she raises one arm up towards a wave of water or clouds in the abstract background.

May is Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and as it draws to a close, we share this beautiful piece by CHASI artist-in-residence Sharon Strauss. Writing about this piece, Sharon says: “Batok is an indigenous Filipino style of tattooing that predates the colonization of the Philippines. It is traditionally done by hand-tapping the ink into … Read more