The Filipino artist whose raised fist illustration sparked an online movement shared that one of his posts got reported and removed on Instagram.
Kevin Eric Raymundo or Tarantadong Kalbo was referring to the new version of his illustration that showed rows of colorful raised fist avatars which he posted on July 21.
“Artista ng Bayan, ngayon ay lumalaban! #Tumindig,” Raymundo wrote with different-colored emojis of raised fists.
Artista ng Bayan, Ngayon ay Lumalaban! ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏻✊✊🏾#Tumindig https://t.co/Vc5Pq8gVv9 pic.twitter.com/5NlOSMpMyI
— Tarantadong Kalbo (@KevinKalbo) July 21, 2021
His initial illustration which he shared on July 17 showed rows of anthropomorphic fists bowing down in obedience or submission to someone. They are also in monochrome blue color.
They referenced the common gesture of a fist bump that President Rodrigo Duterte and his supporters normally do in group photos.
One white-colored glowing fist, however, stood up in the middle of the crowd as a form of resistance.
Raymundo posted both illustrations on his accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The former, however, can no longer be found on Instagram.
He then informed his followers about it under his main tweet featuring the edited poster with avatars of those who joined him in solidarity.
“This post got reported on IG. So, yeah,” the illustrator said.
This post got reported on ig. so, yeah.
— Tarantadong Kalbo (@KevinKalbo) July 21, 2021
Raymundo also added another tweet with a screenshot that showed the text, saying: “Mga ka-DDS, nakakabahala na to. Unti-unti na talaga tayong nauubos.”
— Tarantadong Kalbo (@KevinKalbo) July 21, 2021
His first work he captioned with “tumindig” immediately sent waves of impromptu collaborations with other fellow artists first, and then became a form of movement or trend among critics of the current administration.
They shared their own versions of a raised first avatar or personas and added them to Raymundo’s “tumindig” poster.
Filipino artists were among the first to create their own characters, and later progressive groups such as Gabriela Women’s Partylist also shared their own avatars, along with their grievances against the national government.
Concerned Filipinos, activists, journalists and even fans of K-pop groups later caught up with the initiative and created their own raised-fist characters.
Raymundo later thanked those who joined in solidarity and supported his work.
“Hindi ko inasahan ito. Napakaraming sumali. Napakalakas ng sigaw. Maraming salamat sa lahat ng #tumindig (raised fist and smile emojis),” the artist said.
As of writing, more personalities continue to add to the growing “tumindig” community to express the same political stance.
