Bilma Ausalin Hatamun belongs to a family of four generations of Yakan weavers in Basilan who trace their lineage from the nationally recognised artist Ambalang Ausalin (1943–2022). Basilan has not seen war for at least three generations, allowing culture and the arts to thrive. The Yakan practise Islam but with the integration of indigenous beliefs, like many of the Moro communities in Mindanao.

There are various types of Yakan weaving (tennun), though all follow ordered geometric symmetries representative of nature and Islamic geometry. Included in the Triennial are two examples of Hatamun’s bunga sama works, executed in red and in a rainbow array, composed of hexagons and rhombuses to form diamonds. Diamonds often represent rice and rice grains, a symbol of wealth and bountiful harvest. Other motifs include rice mortars, mountains, leaves, fish, crabs, birds and the python skin (snakes are sacred and considered guides to the spirit world).

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