The Figure: Being Bakla in the Art and Australia Landscape asks: To speak in a multilingual world is to make a choice: which world(s) do we choose to engage with?

This capsule of Translating the Art and Australia Landscape encompasses an expansive, collaborative project with bakla/bading/beki/agi/bayot/baccla, the local genderqueer peoples of present-day Philippines. For the bakla, Tagalog and the “national” language Filipino may bring about ambivalence. Alternatively, Swardspeak, an ever-evolving language used across the Philippine archipelago by genderfluid peoples is shared by the entire beki community, whilst Hiligaynon, Tagalog and English are not.

Working with genderqueer artists, editors and authors The Figure includes articles translated into Swardspeak by Austere Rex Gamao and Ian Rafael Ramirez, alongside video recordings of of a panel discussion and performance by Ang Mga Baklang Kanal hosted in February 2024 at the University of Philippines.