Karla Mylin Bautista
- Director
- Actress
- Writer
Karla Bautista (aka Art of Bodybending) is a multidisciplinary artist who aims to stretch the limits of the body and mind through bold performances and social commentary. She embodies flexibility by combining her various art forms simultaneously in her performances that showcase her multitude of personas. A self-taught avant garde storyteller, singer-songwriter, contortionist fine art model and pole dancer, she ran away from home at age 15 to pursue the arts that her family refused to support her with. After her adventures and misadventures surviving on her own as a teenager, she got her first opportunities to learn and practice her art at age 20. Over the years, she has been pushing the boundaries of her home country's conservative beliefs to provide avenues for freedom and self-expression for all as a means of healing. Her notable performances include the opening and closing of the Fringe Manila 2019 Festival, a performance art piece for M:ST Performance Art named "How Does it Feel?", and her prolific portfolio of self-produced music videos created and released against all odds in the middle of the pandemic. She continues to inspire women, witches, and weirdos to get what they deserve and make their stories known despite all the setbacks they experience from patriarchal societies. Karla lives in Manila and works as a preschool teacher and pole dance instructor. She constantly looks for new spaces to take up as her full authentic self, and meet collaborators and audiences to share her message with.