(TSN): A Philli[pino tatoo artist, 106-year-old Apo Whang-Od is the cover model on the April issue of Vogue. Apo is the oldest person to ever grace the cover of the magazine. The elder is one of the last of a dying breed of artists who use the batok method, a form of hand-tapped indengenous tattoing. It is a spiritual practice for her tribe that links thier stories and kinship., interlocking generations like a family crest.
The faces on the front of beauty and fashion magazines are usually young and aspirational. Age is not typically a selling point. Yet, this cover places value on much more.
Vogue took the time to visit her village and sit with her to observe the ways of her people. In doing this they have paid homage to the tribe and captured the anthropological beauty of the group, allowing Apo's life to express their spirit. Their village has been exploited in the past with people comng in to copy their traditions.
Not this time.
Vogue did not treat Apo like a human artifact, but instead learned about her with respect toward history that has meaning to those who have lived it. In this way, the publication allowed her culture to beath, which is extremely important for the purpose leaving a record of truth-telling and removing cultural appropriation.
The lesoon in celebrating the practice that is over a century old and a woman who has used it since the age of 15 is this -- well kept traditions are timeless.
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