Raw, juxtaposing and contemporary — that is what Sandra Rocha and her photographic work evoke.
Sandra Rocha is a photographer from the Azores, Portugal, who’s work primarily reflects the problems of women, territory and identity. Rocha’s works are mystical in their composition and creations, which offer poetic interpretations of contemporary issues through shots which are visually intriguing and raw in their post-production.
Her work, often depicting micro-narratives within themselves, is full of raw references to her origins in the paradise-like archipelago of Azores.
Her photography features minimal post-production, focusing instead on the quality of composition, colour, metaphors and meanings.
One of Rocha’s most beautiful projects is Waterline, a photographic series exploring the fine boundary between the sea and the horizon. For this collection, Rocha captures the same subject, the sea, at different moments and times of day — a fact evident by the colour and tide changes in her photography. The composition is simple, as is the subject, but Rocha’s ability to depict the passing of time solely through colour and visuals is an extraordinary reference to the photographer’s aptitude.
Another important project of Rocha’s, Messenger, explores the nature of childbirth versus destruction and rage. It contrasts the beauty of the untouched with the deterioration of the living in a series of deadpan shots taken in Portugal. Both provoking and emotional, her work consists of a series of photographic juxtapositions captured in that raw, truthful nature so distinctive of Rocha’s photography.
Rocha’s work has been openly and extensively diffused. Her pieces feature in museums such as the Gulbenkian, Museo de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de Santander y Cantabria, Galería de arte contemporánea Fonseca Macedo and Galería Alarcón Criado.
Sandra Rocha and Le Moindre Souffle
Le Moindre Souffle, The Slightest Breath, is the name of Rocha’s photography exhibition happening in Paris at Les Filles du Calvaire. Following her first large-scale presentation at the CPIF, the exhibition is the fruit of the convergence between still and moving images, photographed in the artist’s homeland, the Azores. Rocha takes the human figure and links it to the community surrounding it to create harmonious compositions within nature.
Le Moindre Souffle imposes questions in photographic format. Is it really possible to live side-by-side with nature and civilisation? How do we live with one’s own identity, sexuality, and gender? How do we apprehend the ones who look like us who are also foreign to us?
Dates and Important Details of the Vernissage
Although Rocha’s vernissage will happen on the 9th of October, at Les Filles du Calvaire at 14:15, one can attend dialogues with the artist on the 27 of November at 15:00. Both events, although free, require reservation requests which can be directed to contact@cpif.net.