Anna Rafanan

artist, designer

Intimations in Precarity

28 January 20221 October 2022Art Studies, Writing

As an initial access, an entry point, I begin with the concept of tahanan, in light of the curation of Sa Tahanan Collective in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Alyx Arumpac’s Aswang (2019) as Counterspectacle

8 November 202110 September 2022Art Studies, Writing

The documentary film genre, through an analysis of Aswang (2019), evokes a reflexivity despite its self-determined spectacularity — a possible critique of the film medium as spectacle.

It was the rush. Of wanting to feel again after a long period of isolation. Of needing to find a connection to the outside world. “I will take it,” I said. “Any semblance will do.” What started as a deliberate conquest for affection became a serious evaluation of the self, the spaces we let ourselves […]

Notes On a Conditional Form

3 July 20219 September 2022Art Studies, Writing

The following is a paper that captures, in essence, a nuanced take on Celso Ad. Castillo’s Burlesk Queen (1977), situating it within the context of Philippine Cinema.

A Portrait of the Artist as Migrant Worker

10 April 202117 February 2023Art Studies, Writing

The Plight of the Migrant Worker It is highly likely that we know at least one person in our immediate community, be it our circle of friends or family, who is working abroad to make ends meet. A survey on overseas Filipinos conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reveals that between April to September 2019, […]