Guendalina Rota

Art & Philosophy BA (Hons)

My practice is a journey in which I explore space, materiality and time, through the actions of making, with a phenomenological approach.

About

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Society pushes us to alienate ourselves behind coloured screens, anaesthetizing our senses with a constant onslaught of ready-made information and images. This creates a growing inability to feel good within ourselves, and we forget the importance of having empty time. We keep ourselves constantly busy and are obsessed with controlling time. I often find myself chasing time, in a weak attempt to achieve all the goals in my life, but I am getting further and further away from my nature. We risk finding ourselves inauthentic and tired of life. In my work, I intend to find those forgotten elements that allow us to stay connected with our true self, finding a balance. This desire led me to consider the concept of time and to offer a different point of view, challenging the one imposed by society. What would happen if we had no goals to pursue and stood still? Openness and stillness. In this stillness I am ready to live, to experience, to feel whatever comes. With the metaphor of water that gives shape to pebbles over time, I created an installation where time is suspended. Like a mantra, I repeated the same actions day after day in creating the pebbles from clay, never thinking about the final number but focusing on the act of forming and smoothing, almost becoming water myself. If you feel the desire to linger and search for your pebble, you might find yourself as well.

Whispers upon the water's edge

Gallery space with some shelves with stones on top; a corner shelf with leaflets, a little book, a business card holder in the shape of a stone; writings on the wall.
Gallery space with ceramic stones, different sizes; four big ceramic sculptures; writing on the floor.
Gallery space with ceramic stones, different sizes; four big ceramic sculptures; writing on the floor, the projection of an ice clock melting.
Gallery space with ceramic stones different sizes; four big ceramic sculptures; writing on the floor, the projection of an ice clock melting.

Installation with a landscape of pebbles, made in ceramic, all different and unique in shape and color; four big stones where people can sit and take their time; a projection of an ice clock melting in real time, sound of water all around.

Details

The projection of an ice clock with no hands on the wall

Close-ups

In those images I am trying to capture the colours and textures of my pebbles, suggesting the time involved and the intimacy with the materials

The book Pebbles

Along this journey, while I was making pebbles, I have awakened special memories, set in some stones collected over the years. Are here, in this little book, together with some of my poetry.

Constructed waves vs time

Collaboration with Charlotte Maishman (http://charlottemaishman.com) We see ourselves as a Ying and Yang, both using intuition however differently, both connecting to earth and stone, both needing light to split the dark. We have created installations with sculptures made from steel, clay and light. On one side there is aggressive industrial action, a desire for line, construction, symmetry and perfection; on the other side, slow and meditative actions leave space for uncertainties, allowing nature's unpredictable happenings to take over. We both collate masses of many, connecting in mathematical fractals, where one sees order and structure and the other fluid repetition.

Any questions about my art are very welcome, whether it's a chat or a request, so please don't hesitate to get in touch via email, Instagram or website.

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