“Goddess is a celebration of the feminine through the prism of traditional ornamentation in cultures across the world, as well as a representation of the divine with worldly attributes.”
Living in London since 2010, Rocio was born in Argentina and moved to Barcelona with her family as a child. Since then, her family has dispersed across even more countries, providing Rocio with many opportunities to find new inspiration in places and people. With an academic background in Audio-visual Communication and Documentary, she has trained also in dance and physical techniques and she is at present undertaking a MA in Dance at The Place. When moving to London Rocio self trained as a photographer by working her way up within the photography industry. Besides her artistic work, she works on commercial commissions within portrait, interiors and still life photography, and engages in dance and performance photography projects, from a creative, promotional and documentary perspective.
Goddess has been conceived as a series. The images manifests a vision of the feminine as deities that are gracefully and powerfully descend from the sky. In a complex layering of meaning, the presentation of the feminine draws on familiar concepts of ritual and worship, but the ‘Goddesses’ are not bestowed a divine existence. Taking inspiration from the Mexican tradition of Voladores (flying dancers), the carefully staged images are grounded in reality. As conveyed by the force of gravity, visible in the dancers’ grip of the rope, the characters’ graceful descend is not by magic, but by skill and strength. The fantastic, yet strangely familiar costumes, assembling common traits of feminine dress from traditions across the world, highlight the universal nature of the feminine and its power. Conversely, the stark black background liberates the images from any specific cultural, ethnic or historical context, becoming a celebration of the universality of the traditions around the world. Space and time seem suspended and with it, the characters’ mortality, the hallmark difference between our human existence and the divine. Nonetheless, there is movement, a certain rhythm in the falling, insinuating the interaction of the goddesses with an imaginary community, congregated to honour the feminine in an ancient ritual. As if by magic, the viewer becomes a member of this community, witnessing the apparition.
