Maya Rochat, Switzerland
A Rock is a River (August 2016)
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Maya Rochat (special editions, limited copies)
Inspired by the natural designs that occur in the Verzasca Valley, the residence work is presented as an installation of photographic pictures taken in situ. Far from the urban world and the mist of digital unreality, “A Rock Is A River” invites to an immersivevisual environment.
The sound of bells, prints in different dimensions and techniques impose themselvesto the viewer’s attention and the space. The subjects flow from one picture into the other, the stone liquefies, the water solidifies. The photographs get out of their frame,expanding in transparency and responding to the traditional stone walls.The surfaces reinvent themselves through the materialisation process; prints on fabric, the chemicalaction of Cilit Bang on sensitive film or prints on painted paper (as a counterpart tothe controlled rendering of digital images).
The work is developed through a multitude of stratified images deprived of their au- tonomy to realize a poetic and sensorial collage.
Ispirato dalle forme naturalmente presenti nella Valle Verzasca, il lavoro realizzato du-rante la residenza è presentato tramite un’installazione di immagini fotografiche scat-tate in situ. Lontano dal mondo urbano e dalle brume dell’irrealtà digitale,“A Rock IsA River” invita a un ambiente visuale immersivo.
Il suono delle campane, stampe in differenti formati e tecniche si impongono alla vista e nello spazio. I motivi colano da un’immagine all’altra, la roccia si liquefa, l’acqua sisolidifica. Le fotografie escono dall’inquadratura, si espandono in trasparenza e rispon-dono ai tradizionali muri di pietra. Le superfici si reinventano mediante il processo dimaterializzazione; stampe su stoffa, l’azione chimica del Cilit Bang su pellicola fotosen- sibile o carta dipinta prima della stampa (in contrapposizione alla resa controllata delle immagini digitali).
L’opera si sviluppa in una moltitudine di immagini stratificate e private della loroautonomia per realizzare un collage poetico e sensoriale.
“Giant liquefied rocks- a stone wave, a very slow moving painting drawn by time and water. Black fluxus and blue traces engraved onto lunar surfaces. I trip. Magic Forest - no web, feels GOOD - Take Time, find space. Underwater camera - Chemistry - Bubble Bath. The river cold, the bodies warm. Sounds of Dolphin flight, we played a lot in Verzasca. Stampas and landscape, all strangely intimate. TRAP dancing in the river stream, wearing masks. Drowning the films into CILIT BANG Spritz, rainbows all over our dreamy eyes. The stonewall is the Canvas, flash and the night”.
Exhibition 2016
Sonogno, Valle Verzasca
Servizio di Cult+ (Rai)
Residenza + esposizione in Verzasca
Maya Rochat
Maya Rochat is a visual artist working in the expanded fields of photography, painting, video and installation.
Maya's works are presented in institutions of great significance such as Palais de Tokyo – Paris, Centre culturel Suisse (library), La Filature – Mulhouse, [ 7] P FOTOFESTIVAL –Heidelberg,TATE Modern – London (turbine hall), FOTOMUSEUM Winterthur, Centre de la photographie – Genève, Centre PasquArt – Bienne and Fotohof – Salzburg.
Maya is the laureate of the Abraham Hermanjat Grant 2016, she benefited the “Prix de la relève photographique” Pro Helvetia in 2015, and she has been selected for the artist residencies at Foto Festival Verzsaca, “Project Space” Centre d’art Contemporain Genève and Air Berlin Alexanderplatz. Maya benefited the support of “Promotion des livres de photographie” Pro Helvetia for the publication of “Crystal Clear” by Editions Patrick Frey and “A Plastic Tool” by Meta/Books. Her images are published by international revues and magazines.
http://www.mayarochat.com/
The 2015 and 2016 editions of this Artist-in-Residence project were part of the national initiative ’’Cultural diversity in non-urban regions“ launched by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia. Through its initiative Pro Helvetia encourages and strengthens the regional cultural offering.
