RADHA ROSE
Intrecciare
Corpus Residentia is a sculpture/installation which deals with the theme of one’s body as Other than oneself: of the body as residence.
There is an incredible intimacy between oneself and one’s body: truly the two are inseparable. When the Self leaves the body, its existence in this physical world ceases. Our bodies are our vehicles for existence, but they are similarly and conversely our very mortality. Our deep-seated consciousness of the eventual termination of our existence creates a separation between ourselves and our bodies. A body is not to be trusted: it will eventually betray its owner, yet a high level of partnership must exist between a body and its wearer in order to function.
Corpus Residentia is a manifestation of this conflict, representing the body as a domicile in which one dwells; a place one holds dear, and where one feels comfortable. A space of which one acquires an intimate knowledge, and to which one grows very attached, yet from which there is always a separation. A space one can inhabit, but never become.
Mat board, wood, plaster, wax, video. October, 2014.
Corpus Residentia
Cuestionemos
Questionemos is a photo-based installation which was born from my personal research into wind turbines upon becoming aware of a wind energy generation plant proposed for my hometown, and throughout the following years resisting the project.
Before there existed the possibility that these machines would be built just up the road from my family home, I had little knowledge about them. My perception of a wind turbine was typical: I saw them as clean sleek stewards of the environment, providing natural, clean energy to those in need.
After researching on the subject, I became aware of the dark side of the wind energy industry. The turbines are hazardous to human health due to the low-frequency vibrations that they emit and the noise disturbance they cause; they are hazardous to wildlife; and they are detrimental to property values in the surrounding areas. They are costly and inefficient, and the motivations for installing them are often driven by political or financial motivations rather than their actual potential for energy production, which is minimal. The residents of the communities where the turbines are installed are under-informed, under-compensated, made promises which aren’t kept, and often disregarded completely.
Questionemos (Let Us Question) aims to bring these issues to light, as they are seldom known outside of communities neighboring “wind farms”, and asks the viewers to question the image of the wind turbine that is sold to them regularly through media and advertising. The installation deals with text and imagery, and the covering-up of the truth for which both are used in regards to the wind energy industry. The installation also contains a video which incorporates the monstrous noise made by the turbines.
This work is part of an exploration into myself and some of the experiences which have been foundational forces in forming my character and my identity. The early half of my childhood I spent in my native home of California, and the latter half was spent in Costa Rica, when my family relocated there. This work deals with the experience of belonging to two cultures simultaneously, yet not completely belonging to either, and my experience of trying to locate myself somewhere between the two.