With this zine, "Anahaw", I want to bring attention to the wide range of cultural influences the Philippines has had imposed on them, with a discussion on the evolution of Filipino dresses; a key factor to this being thanks to colonisation and occupancies.
Nonetheless I believe it is both important and insightful to continuously look at one’s culture from both a native and foreign perspective. What I may consider more obvious–such as the vast range in physical appearance of filipinos–may not be so for those not inclined to my culture.
Taking a step back to acknowledge the deep-rooted influence a country’s culture may have, is undoubtedly not a daily thought. Not often does the average person seem to contemplate their way of thinking and how it may have been influenced through history. In response to this, I have created a look-book of the Filipino traditional clothing to depict the dress’ wide range, in hopes of creating an opportunity for individuals to recognise the Philippines’ cultural influence and how colonialism has greatly impacted the country through time.
My intention is to be able to depict Filipino culture in a way that permits the audience to question the ways of thinking within societies. Being able to identify one’s culture at its purity and distinguish the colonial influences is a privilege, one that I hope is shared and re-discovered by my audience upon reading this zine.
The name of my zine, Anahaw, is the national plant of the Philippines. I chose to name my look-book after a plant because the textiles used in traditional costumes are made of plant fibres, and the colour palette is in coordination with the neutral tones seen in said textile.
All of the images are sourced from the internet and I made sure to carefully curate them to be in line with one another. Although they are taken from different sources, I was careful to choose photos that created a seamless composition; it is as if there is an underlying thematic photographic element that carries the images to well execute and complete the contents of this zine.
