Hotsilog Watawat / Meaning
The Story
This art began during a screen printing class at HOMA [Honolulu Museum of Art] that Phoebe and I took in the fall of 2022. The short version; I was about to start our last project and still needed a screen print concept. Including Pinoy themes in my work has been ongoing at that time with the Inktober challenge and the HOMA class. There was a blue and red ink that I really enjoyed from previous assignments and wanted to re-use. The dots were there, and connecting food [because of their colors] and the Philippine flag was a welcome coincidence.
It was enjoyable figuring out the composition of the elements and making the design abstract.
The Words
Hot • Si • log
Hot dog: hot dog but Pinoy kind.
Sinangag: garlic fried rice.
Itlog: egg. For this meal, it's usually a sunny-side-up fried egg.
Watawat: flag
The Name
This is a great example of Pinoy's way with names, an exploration to be revisited another time, and something I've posted about in the past [Instagram: Pangalan Palayaw].
Silog, made up of rice and egg, is the foundational component. Plenty of versions include sliced tomatoes and scallions.
The first syllabus is based on the ulam or the [protein] dish in the meal. Pinoy hotdogs, especially the ubiquitous Pure Foods brand, are abnormally red [hello food coloring].
Other popular ulams are adobo, bacon, bistek, daing, fried chicken, tapa, and tocino - depending on the dish, the first syllable is adjusted accordingly. Kinda clever, kinda funny, and pretty effective - pure Pinoy style.
The Flag
The colors of the Philippine flag are: blue, red, white, and yellow [represented by a sun with eight rays and 3 stars].
See the store for prints & greeting cards!
