Maharlika UK is a UK-based platform dedicated to championing Filipino arts, culture and creative expression. Through exhibitions, performance and community-led programming, it creates space for Filipino voices within the British cultural landscape. The 4th Wave programme, supported by public arts funding including backing from Arts Council England, brings together a new cohort of artists presenting work rooted in identity, heritage and lived experience.
I submitted an application to be part of Maharlika’s 4th Wave exhibition and was selected to present a commissioned piece.
During the development of this work, I was navigating an unexpected loss in my family. Having recently returned from the Philippines to the UK, I found myself suspended between places, languages and emotional states. The commission became a space to process grief through my Filipino heritage and lived experience.
From this emerged “Baud” (Wave) — a spoken word piece first written in Bisaya and later translated into English. Meaning “wave,” Baud reflects the rhythm of grief: rising, breaking, receding, and returning. Through garment, textile and voice, the work acknowledges loss while honouring resilience, continuity and the quiet strength carried across generations.
Spoken word in Bisaya by VJ Taganahan
English Translation by Jay Sentrosi
This is a magnified and visual expression of Baud -- where breath, and movement intertwine.
Moments unfold close to the body: the rise of breath, the pulse beneath the fabric, the dip of hands painted in blue -- not stained, but touched and held by water.
It is both offering and becoming; a quiet blessing of grief, release and return.
Photography and Fashion Film by Jay Sentrosi
Hair and Make up by Kyra Lui
Models: Christall Reign Quinto, Ainara Basco
Assistant Jill Carlos
Baud (Wave) Look 1, Acknowledgement of Pain, 2025, Organza dress and knotted vest made from lace, muslin, cotton, organza and jersey; dip-dyed with blue fabric paint.
This look reflects the first stage of grief -- the physical weight of emotion and the paralysis that follows. The constricted, knotted form mirrors tension across the body, while the ballooning asymmetric dress expresses the quiet longing to move and breathe again.
Baud (Wave) Look 2, Breathing Through, 2025, Woven top made from strips of lace, muslin, organza, cotton, and jersey with dip-dyed skirt.
Weaving is used here as a universal language of patience and connection -- deeply rooted in Filipino culture and shared across tribes. The structure yet imperfect weave captures the process of allowing, breathing, and slowly returning to presence.
Baud (Wave) Look 3, Return to Oneself, 2025, Lace and striped denim dress with chiffon veil and beaded detailing.
A reflection of acceptance and renewal -- the veil's beads symbolise tears, the overflowing of release, and self-acknowledgement. The expansive silhouette expresses softness, openness, and a quiet commitment back to oneself.
