Wagi Sa Yamang Isip
Visual artist BITTO chooses chillness over today’s hustle culture
And he thinks knowing your intellectual property rights is key to keeping your peace.
by Rawl Maliwat
As the grind goes on, taking a break becomes an act of defiance. Choosing a more relaxed and mindful way of living is what BITTO stands for.
BITTO is the artistic alias of Anjo Bolarda, an artist, illustrator and muralist whose signature style features a vibrant mood that draws from youth culture and contemporary living. This results in a blend of bold, saturated hues that feel nostalgic of the pop art era of the 60s but surrealist with its uncanny characters and dreamlike scenes. Bolarda’s paintings and illustrations delicately combine loudness and playfulness with calm, still moments of everyday life. If not lying down in a field of disarray, you will find BITTO reading a book, staring blankly or just watching the world go by, exuding a laid-back vibe that belies the brightness of the colors.
Photo courtesy of Anjo Bolarda
Bolarda’s “Fruit Salad” in acrylic on canvas (left) and a digital illustration from his Instagram (right).
Bolarda’s digital gallery has captivated a generation of work-weary students and young professionals locally and globally, leading to huge successes both in art galleries and in collaborations with international brands like Nike, Shake Shack, Gentlewoman, Bic and Bench, as well as with international artists like Apl De Ap.
Chance, curiosity and creative journey
Bolarda’s path as an artist was fraught with doubt at first. In the early 2000s, digital illustration was still an emerging field, which made finding a community of like-minded creatives hard to come by. At an artists’ residency he had applied for in Tagaytay, he was the only digital artist.
Despite this uncertainty, he decided to build his portfolio and put his illustrations online. These eventually drew the attention of Singapore’s Organisation of Illustrators Council (OIC), which reached out to him with an offer of work.
Good pay, frequent commissions and few revisions—for creatives, working with an employer like OIC is the dream. It was also through this cooperation that Bolarda was first exposed to a strong culture of respect for intellectual property (IP), though he wasn’t yet fully aware of the term.
“In terms of paying the artist, they were so strict. They would really follow the contract, the timeline,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Anjo Bolarda
Bolarda would go on to leverage the BITTO brand in collaborations with major brands such as Nike and Bench.
Bolarda’s work with OIC both expanded his professional network and facilitated his entry into the local art scene. His artistic practice continued to evolve over the next few years of professional illustration work and through a series of residencies abroad, which broadened his perspective of what it means to make art. In many ways, these residencies served as the stage for Bolarda’s own iteration of the timeless artist’s journey, marked by self-exploration, refinement and a revitalized drive to create.
And at the end of that journey was BITTO.
The art of chill life
When the pandemic hit in 2020, everything slowed. Movement became difficult, more so connections.
Before BITTO, Bolarda experimented with styles ranging from abstract to contemporary street art. But as the pandemic progressed, abstract forms felt no longer enough. What was missing, he realized, was a human presence.
In response, he created BITTO: his enigmatic red-skinned, blue-haired avatar who felt instantly familiar, someone audiences could see themselves in.
During the long months of lockdown, he posted one illustration a day. BITTO cooking. BITTO bored, playing with a cat. BITTO watering plants. In short, BITTO doing all sorts of mundane things. In this context, BITTO’s calm, everyday gestures offered a visual refuge, reflecting a slower, more mindful pace of life many viewers longed for.
Photo courtesy of Anjo Bolarda
Bolarda’s early work depicts BITTO doing small, everyday things as a response to the pandemic.
“It was a way of saying, I feel you,” Bolarda said. “It’s like acknowledging that the days are boring but we’re doing the same thing together.”
What began as a simple, daily practice became a shared point of recognition. Long after restrictions eased, BITTO remained—remembered not for spectacle, but for presence.
“You don’t have to be in a hurry,” Bolarda said. “Because we’re busy doing so many things, we tend to overlook the most important part of why it’s fun to just be, something as cheesy as being alive, that’s all.”
Balancing intellectual property and artistic community
Even before BITTO, Bolarda’s success didn’t come without complications, including an incident early in his career when a brand featured his work on a billboard without permission.
The brand had done a photoshoot in a public art space, and one of the photos featured a mural he had done as its backdrop. This photo made its way onto a billboard, making it seem as if he had done a collaboration with the brand.
This led to some debate within his circles on Facebook about attribution, consent and the use of public artworks for commercial ends.
At the time, Bolarda didn’t know that the law already provided protections against the commercial misuse of creative work. Under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines and various international treaties, artistic works such as books, drawings, music, films and even software are automatically protected by copyright as soon as they are created.
While Bolarda may not have been fully aware of what IP meant at the time, even then he recognized the injustice of the situation and the need for artists to protect their work from commercial exploitation.
Bolarda’s appreciation of IP underwent a dramatic shift when he attended an illustration fair in Bangkok, Thailand to sell toys and BITTO merch. Chatting with other artists, he found that it was normal for many of them to collaborate with brands using characters they had created, and that they were very comfortable discussing their work as IP.
Photo courtesy of Anjo Bolarda
Bolarda has produced a range of BITTO merchandise ranging from stickers to apparel and toys.
“They would tell me, ‘Oh, well, this is your IP!’” Bolarda recalled.
The comments surprised him and sparked a desire to better understand IP and how it is protected. The experience also led him to realize that a strong IP culture can help cultivate a strong creative community.
Advancing art and intellectual property culture in the Philippines
Knowing what he does know, Bolarda is optimistic about the benefits that IP protection can offer creatives. He also sees a clear need to elevate the discourse around it as many artists aren’t fully aware of their rights concerning their creative work, and even less familiar with the measures available to protect it. Artists also tend to be notoriously averse to the legal side of creative production, often viewing it as intimidating, inaccessible or at odds with the spontaneity of artistic practice.
Bolarda hopes that greater outreach can help move conversations around IP protection in the creative industry toward a more constructive direction.
Every year, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) conducts a Copyright Caravan, a roadshow that brings IP awareness to creatives around the country. Creatives can consult with copyright experts at these events about registering their works with IPOPHL, dealing with infringement and other relevant issues.
IPOPHL also holds the week-long Philippine International Copyright Summit where creatives, experts and policymakers gather to navigate emerging developments in the creative economy and discuss possible ways forward.
Photo courtesy of Anjo Bolarda
Bolarda continues to create art, not only online and on canvas but also across the urban landscape.
Bolarda also hopes to see creatives leading roundtables, panels and educational sessions at conventions like ToyCon and Komiket, which would provide accessible spaces for artists to demystify IP concerns and engage with these issues together.
Bolarda believes the creative community can sustain this momentum in developing a creative culture grounded in shared understanding, mutual respect and the collective aspiration to protect and sustain creative works. With greater IP awareness, artists can move closer to the “chill” life BITTO advocates for, better protected against the chaos and frustration that comes in the shadow of unfair contracts and copyright infringement.