Emma Rochester: Venus with her interrupted life: Cyprus College of Art

Artist in Residence. Cyprus College of Art, Larnaca, Cyprus

Aphrodite, Isis, Astarte and She of Ten Thousand Names regardless of the Epithet the Island of Cyprus has for centuries been known as the Island of Aphrodite. In Ancient Greek times it was customary to make a pilgrimage to this Island at least once in a lifetime in order to honour and call forth the blessings of the Goddess of erotic sensuality and love, Aphrodite/Venus.

Whilst Artist in Residence at the Cyprus College of Art, Emma Rochester has walked the pilgrimage sites on both sides of this divided island. The nature of her work has lead her drawings, fibre based and video works to become an expression of the notion of the Goddess as present in all her diverse forms in each temple and or place of veneration. From neolithic to modern day the presence of Aphrodite still remains. The following works provide an indication of the many pathways to the Goddess in Cyprus.

WORK ONE:

Emma Rochester. Untitled Drawing. Salt Lake. Tekke. Larnaca. 2011

WORK TWO:

Emma Rochester. ALL THAT GLITTERS IS GOLD::: Leaving behind the glitz of Larnaca to climb to the Mountain of the Gods, Mount Olympus. 2011

Emma Rochester; A 3D POSTCARD SAYS IT BEST::: But sometimes you need to stop at the half way point. 2011.

WORK THREE:

Emma Rochester. Pearl, Apple, Swan and when the water glitters it is Aphrodite's Mirror (Video Still). 2011.

WORK FOUR:

Emma Rochester.Work in Progress. Apollo's Temple. Cyprus. 2011

WORK FIVE:

Emma Rochester. Work in Progress. Tamasus (Site of the Sacred Apple Grove). Cyprus. 2011

WORK SIX:

Emma Rochester. Work in Progress. Kouklia (Site of the Major Temple for Aphrodite). Cyrpus. 2011

Re-Imagining Space: Recreating a feminine form of cartography

When one looks at a map one sees place devised and redefined into a strict grid like system with roads and landscape marked out in different coloured lines. The grid (upon which the map is constructed) with its hard lineal structure not only signifies place but is also a cultural reminder of how society contains, defines and understands place. Terrain is reduced to simple lines that were once devised and decided upon by men.

While cartography may once have been designed to demacate place, somewhere along the line mapping became mistaken and intermeshed with place. Maps became formailsed, accurate, exact, unquestionable in some cases, easier to understand than the place itself. In sum, maps replace place.

But what if place, terrain, territory and spaces could be represented in more personally fulfilling and gender inclusive ways? What if one could separate the unquestioning belief in the digital navigation system and the two dimensional fold out map, look up, look down, gaze around and see that place can be defined in a myriad of ways, and that what we now have to define place is not necessarily the best form of construct. What if place could be represented in a way that was personally meaningful and reflective of the individual experience rather than of the man who originally invented or created the map?

The Meaning of Method:

Through both performative and static works Emma Rochester inhabits the space in order to create a new dialogue of how place can be presented and invites the viewer to extend their imagination beyond the line of what is presented.

Walking through the space with pen on paper or even something as simple as drawing a line by walking. Emma Rochester creates drawings that can be seen as layered memories of place. These are often considered seismographic as they simultaneously map the movement of the artist through place.

The performative walk also becomes one of assessment. Of understanding ones location within the space dependent upon the point on which one stands on the line: Like the map which has its basis in scientific assessment and determination of place so too does the walk becomes a reflection on orientation and ones position in relation to not only the line the artist walks but also in terms of mapping as an entirety of lines that culminate in grid like structures.

WIthin the performative aspect of Emma Rochester's work the line transforms beyond its' delineation on the floor to exists between the footsteps and the movement she makes as she moves around the space.

The artist often dressed in black or in tutus -of a corresponding colour to the surroundings- no longer represents herself as an individual but becomes a generic signifier of all women as she inserts in feminine into the map making tradition

Emma Rochester

Pages

Philosophy & Biography

Venus with her interrupted life: Cyprus College of Art

New Work Makers

Re-Imagining Space: Recreating a feminine form of cartography

The Meaning of Method:

About Me

Three is a bicycle in my studio