1982 / Etching and mezzotint / 86 x 61 cm / Artist: Fil Delacruz / Private collection

This work by Delacruz is a major achievement in printmaking. In black and white, it was done through etching and mezzotint. Mezzotint is an archaic method of creating rich fine textures and tones by using a rocker. The work resulted from the artist’s sojourn among the Subanon in Mindanao, which enabled him to represent his subjects in authentic detail.

The main figure is a mother carrying her child in the foreground. The features of ethnic costume are distinctive: the cloth wrapped around the head, the malong (cylindrical skirt) formed into a portable hammock to carry the infant, and the large loop earrings that celebrate her femininity. The closeness of mother and child is reflected in the flexible malong that serves both as her costume and the cradle. The large headdress blends into the second mother-and-child figure on the right, a shadowy echo of the first. Higher up are Datu Bog and a third woman seated together. While the work reflects the polygamous custom of the tribe, it is the woman as mother and nurturer of life that is given primary importance rather than the man, as in traditional male-centered images.

The woman as mother in the foreground is shown in all her beauty and strength as she carries her child with pride and confidence in the joyous affirmation of the continuance of the life of the tribe. This work also shows the vigor of cultural communities in their struggle for survival and self-determination.