‘Artista ng bayan, ngayon ay lumalaban!’
Resistance and protest can be done in many ways, but often the best and most effective medium is art. Paintings, songs, literature, and other forms of art have the ability to move people to stand up in solidarity in such a creative way that the movement is hard to leave unnoticed. That same thing is happening this week with just a simple illustration shared online by artist Tarantadong Kalbo, Kevin Eric Raymundo in real life.
His now viral work, titled "Tumindig," presents legions of fists bowing down except for one, which is glowing and standing up. While it wasn't intended to be a campaign, activists, action leaders and groups, and fellow artists were quick to follow what he did and created their own versions of "Tuminding" incorporating their own fist avatar, showing their solidarity.
Since the beginning of his campaign, President Rodrigo Duterte has made the fist bump pose his signature gesture, which was eventually adopted by his followers and supporters both in the community and the government. In the past, international personalities such as Australian Secret Intelligence Service Nick Warner and action movie superstar Jackie Chan did the fist bump during photo ops with the President. While country leaders such as Senators Grace Poe and Nancy Binay and Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto have refused to do it.
Check out some of the "Tumindig" recreations online: