Markenplein 1 | Cinema, 2nd floor
23 March | 19.30h - 21.30h
RSVP
Rafa is a visual artist working both in art and film. Her body of work combines feature length film, video, video-installation and sculpture, in order to grow attention to a non-anthropocentric, non-logocentric notion of subjectivities and places. Her works repetitively examines the connections of moving image art and film, in relation to fiction, narration, abstraction and symbolism.
Her narratives describe of a world in turmoil that focuses on the marginal, the invisible, the violated body, the mythical and the occult. Rituals of farewelling, burying or unearthing, submitting or revenging form a circular pattern of narration in which the non-human agency is recognised in order to reveal political and ethical dimensions, as another kind of archaeology.
In this lecture, Rafa will examine the connections amongst her works and the hidden failures, accidents and inevitable choices made in filming that have become a central component to her practice. Subverting hierarchies, accessing marginal territories and letting the animal finally free and uncontrollable are some of the elements that are used as organic matter in the formation of each film and can alter not only the shooting-process but the narrative itself.
After the lecture, her feature filmKala azar (92 min) will be screened. You are welcome to join us! More info about Kala azarhere.
Janis Rafa is an Amsterdam-Athens based artist and filmmaker. Her body of work combines film, video installation and sculpture. She was a resident at the Rijksakademie (NL, 2013/14) and holds a PhD in Fine Art and video practice (University of Leeds, 2012). Her recent work will be presented at 59th Venice Biennial curated by Cecilia Alemani.
Her debut feature film Kala azar (2020) premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (KNF award), at New Directors/New Films at MoMA (2021) and had an international film festival run. Her work has been exhibited in various venues, amongst them: Centraal Museum solo-exhibition (NL, 2019), Goethe-Institut (GR, 2021), MAXXI (2020), State of Concept Athens (2020), Manifesta 12 (2018), Palazzo Medici Riccardi (2017), Centre d’art Contemporain Chanot (2017), Mardin Biennial (2018), Kunsthalle Munster (2017), EYE Filmmuseum (2016/ 2021), Palazzo Strozzi (2015).
film still: Lacerate (2020)
