The Modern Mambabatok: Lane Wilcken and Filipino Tattooing in the Diaspora
by Kayla Sotomil, MVA 2019
The Modern Mambabatok follows the story of Lane Wilcken as he travels the United States practicing traditional Filipino hand-tap tattooing. The film showcases Wilcken’s engagement with the Filipino diasporic community as an educator of indigenous Philippine culture and as a mambabatok, traditional tattoo practitioner. Through Wilcken’s personal and professional journeys, audiences gain insight into the history of ancient Filipino hand-tap tattooing, its near extinction, and its recent revival and practice in the Filipino diaspora. The Modern Mambabatok chronicles this resurgence of traditional hand-tap tattooing and how batoks, hand-tap tattoos, are used to express Filipino and Filipino American identity today.
Running time: 30 minutes