EXCLUSIVE: Visual Artist Anna Bautista Paints Love Letters to Filipino Women

EXCLUSIVE: Visual Artist Anna Bautista Paints Love Letters to Filipino Women

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The past and present collide on Anna Bautista’s canvas—and the Filipina is at the center of it all

Tradition can be tricky. It’s cherished, yet often feels like a relic that confines us to the old. But for Filipina visual artist Anna Bautista, it’s her playground. Her art doesn’t tiptoe around heritage; it wrestles with it, dances with it, and—when necessary—reinvents it. Each piece is a conversation, a challenge, and a love letter all at once, and the intended reader is the Filipina. 

Anna Bautista

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The work of the 27-year-old artist layers hints of the then and now. While she paints vintage hand fans, traditional ternos, and other elements that modernity leisurely forgets, each stroke pulls them back into the present and ties them in with cleverly subtle references to pop culture, blurring the distance between both time frames. But that’s until you take a closer look yourself. 

Decoding Artful Secrets

“I see my paintings as time capsules given the nature of hidden objects in them,” the visual artist told MEGA. “I’ve been leaning more into subliminal messages, intentionally including hidden elements in my canvases that are enveloped in flora.” 

“I Want To Talk To You” (Acrylic on 30×30 in. Wood)
“I Like You” (Acrylic on 30×30 in. Wood)

Picture an abanico laced with tech icons, or clappers and magnifying glasses tucked among florals—each showing how drastically communication has evolved and how quickly misinformation spreads. Next thing you know, she’s reimagining Amorsolo’s The Yellow Parasol, swapping it for a Versace umbrella, and painting a woman in a Louis Vuitton-monogrammed terno. 

“Maybe Tomorrow” (Acrylic on 3×2 ft. Canvas)
“The Yellow Versace Parasol (After Amorsolo)” (Acrylic on 36×36 in. Canvas)

“At its simplest sense, I want to spark a thought on what it means to have a healthy symbiotic relationship between technology, the human condition, and tradition in our contemporary milieu,” the 27-year-old shared. But rather than spelling it out like a textbook, she lets her art initiate a visual conversation that resonates deeply with her fellow youth. It’s an Easter egg hunt for us, but a little inside joke for Anna and the canvas.

Echoes of the Filipina

Birds, florals, the kalesa—it’s easy to box Anna’s work into pure tradition, but at its heart is an assertion of her identity, that while she is an artist, she is a Filipina, too.

“Current Currencies” (Acrylic on 36×48 in. Canvas)
A discreet five-peso coin in the painting

“I feel like I am very much drawn to these symbols as a nod to our roots and tradition, and to show our constantly evolving culture,” Bautista explained, referring to elements of the old-world Filipina and items she typically uses. “The abanicos or pamaypays were once our Filipina ancestors’ way of communication under the Spanish regime, and it brings me disbelief that during that era, they could not even literally speak their mind, and as a result, had to make up a secret language using gestures conveyed by their hand fan.”

“Cut to today, I carefully illustrate hidden meanings and modern languages in my paintings to indicate how far we fortunately have come as Filipino women.”

– Anna Bautista on using the abanico as a symbol of progress for women
“A Woman of Justice” (Acrylic on 4×3 ft. Canvas)
“A Woman in Medicine” (Acrylic on 4×3 ft. Canvas)

Women today are different, far from the once-silent nature of the dalagang Pilipina. But Anna’s work stands out because it doesn’t pit the past against the present. Instead, it honors the quiet rebellions that brought us here—celebrating the journey as much as the arrival.

Inspired by Her Own

When asked about her influences in art and life, the artist didn’t look far from home. “I have been raised by a household of women, and growing up, they have really been role models to me, not only in the workplace but also as strong and independent individuals,” Anna detailed. 

Solo exhibition “ACTUAL/ARTIFICIAL” by Anna Bautista

Even an artist as accomplished as she needs an idol, and hers is none other than Filipino-American expressive painter Pacita Abad. “She makes me feel like anything could be possible for a Filipina,” Anna said, a clear admiration for Abad’s unrestrained creativity.

It’s a full-circle moment of sorts. The women in Anna’s life have showered her with inspiration and motivation, and she returns the favor in the form of art. It is plentyfold—becoming one of the most promising young artists in the country, with her works being exhibited across the country and, very recently, in this year’s Venice Biennale. 

Through each brushstroke, her paintings are love letters to the women who came before her. A tribute and a conversation that spans generations, this is her way of giving back the love, power, and talent she’s inherited.


Featured Image and Photos: AYA CABAUATAN, ANNA BAUTISTA (via Instagram)

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