Bulul 2024 – A Textile Offering
Bulul is a 2024 textile piece composed, as usual, of a patchwork of found fabrics, thread, purely hand embroidery, and ink. Created entirely by hand, this work carries both material memory and intuitive process, where each thread and texture becomes part of the story.
This piece began in October 2023—hesitantly. I started with a few stitched forms, but the work paused for a while. It sat quietly among my materials for a few months until I picked it up again and continued working through to its completion in January 2024. It was later re-framed in May 2024. In that pause and return, something deepened—allowing the piece to become what it needed to be.
The artwork depicts the revered Bulul, a significant figure in Ifugao culture. At first glance, one might see a single form, but upon closer inspection, two intertwined figures emerge. These dual entities represent the physical body and the spirit, held together by geometric patterns and detailed running and cross stitches.
The Bulul is central in Ifugao spiritual life—often called upon during agricultural rituals as a guardian of the harvest. But it also holds a more complex role. In some traditions, the Mumbaki (spiritual healer) uses the figure to draw negative spirits from the ill and transfer them into the Bulul. This duality—the coexistence of body and spirit, vessel and protector—is what I sought to express in the piece.
The materials used are remnants from past works—discarded garments, scraps from dollmaking, old buttons and thread ends—gathered and given new form. Shapes echo ancestral carvings, while stitches act as both repair and reverence. Ink stains and frayed edges are intentionally left visible, honoring the life each material had before becoming part of this piece.
In Bulul, I continue to explore how old cloth, free hands, and cultural memory can intertwine to hold space—for spirit, for story, and for transformation.
This piece is available for acquisition but is only available for local pickup due to its weight and glass frame. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee safe shipping through couriers at the moment. If you’re interested or would like to view the piece in person, kindly reach out to me via coleelabindery@gmail.com.
Lenny Onangey Mendoza
