Rachel Amy Rochford's statement from DOCUMENT ME 2009 EXHIBITION

DOCUMENT ME

After seven years of manipulating the body and locating faceless silhouettes in their claimed spaces; in front or behind vending stalls, approaching or sitting outside a familiar bar, or just liming at the edge of the road, I thought my defining brush stokes were far from complete in capturing this elusive Trinbagonian. I have been preoccupied with identifying and encapsulating the visual essence of this being, as I believe it to exist, to be unique and unmistakable.

At first I thought it to be the stance of a man, which at a glance held that essence. A short foray into the iconography and symbols of Africa led me to study the features of the human face. This is when I discovered that it might be through a facial expression that I could define a Trinbagonian. I sought to extrapolate a local mask from the faces of these people. Initially, I used photographs taken while driving around the islands. I then expanded my source material to include selections from the local newspapers.

A platform is provided daily, by the media, for the voice of the people to be heard. I scour the newspapers for any face that speaks to me and systematically tear out from each paper the opinion poll, an odd head from the business section and a random head from the sporting section. I use these images as a starting point as they are taken from a cross-section of the society. At this point, I am not yet interested in what these people are quoted as saying, that will come later, but rather what they are telling me with their eyes, the other story.

In this exhibition, these 46 heads are not portraits of the photographs from the newspaper clippings but rather are a portrayal of a current state of being, a document highlighting the condition of the Trinbagonian. I draw each line that I see etched onto the face in the clipping. I exaggerate the scale and tonal values of these faces. Somewhere between drawing and picking up my brush, a shift comes. The face in the paper merges with a face in my mind; a person that I know but cannot easily recall. Yet everyone who sees a painting recalls someone that they know, who claims the essence of the being I have created.



Rachel Amy Rochford

Paintings from 2009 exhibition DOCUMENT ME.

All paintings are acrylic on canvas.

Photography by Derek Gay.

Rachel Amy Rochford's titles from 2009 exhibition DOCUMENT ME.

1. Laminate installer, CLAXTON BAY
2. Businessman, BACOLET
3. “To leave a company in charge of holding evidence to be used against it is just absurd.”
POINT FORTIN
4. Export Trader, LAMBEAU
5. Caterer, BLUE RANGE
6. “How could they truly ensure that those records will be protected?” CHAMPS FLEURS
7. Packer, MALICK
8. Nurse, ROXBOROUGH
9. Administrative Assistant, CARENAGE
10. Seamstress, MARABELLA
11. “They should be neutral that is why they are independent.” SANTA CRUZ
12. “I think the process is flawed and we should start over and pick new people and have more
transparency in the process.” ST. ANNS
13. Financial Advisor, TRINCITY
14. “It will ease up a bit but just for a short period.” CUMANA
15. Bakery Attendant, LA ROMAINE
16. “There is no difference in food prices, we have the same high prices to face all the time.”
PETIT BOURG
17. “Yes, most people in this country eat chicken.” CHAGUANAS
18. IT Technician, EL SOCORRO
19. Taxi Driver, SAN JUAN
20. “The government needs to start growing rice locally, or get serious about the blue foods
projects they have been so vocal about.” CUNUPIA
21. Singer, WOODBROOK
22. “Well I am cutting down on my drinking and liming.” LAVENTILLE
23. Self Employed, RIO CLARO
24. Pharmacist, ARIMA
25. CEO, GULF VIEW
26. “The authorities need to do something about the continuous use of children in street
vending.” AROUCA
27. Lifeguard, DELAFORD
28. “I would like them to fix the roads and the hospitals as well.” DIEGO MARTIN
29. Call Centre Agent, LA BREA
30. Merchandiser, ST. JOSEPH
31. Public Servant, CANAAN
32. Customs Clerk, BARATARIA
33. “He should answer why the position has not been filled as yet.” COUVA
34. Steel bender, PENAL
35. Auditor, ST. AUGUSTINE
36. Courier, SANGRE GRANDE
37. Teacher, FREEPORT
38. “Yes I do because he is a great leader and change is good.” ST. JAMES
39. Unemployed, MARAVAL
40. Research Assistant, SIPARIA
41. “I had to sit my CAPE exams over.” BELMONT
42. “There is a lot of soca music that is not progressive but I don’t think it promotes things like
pornography.” TUNAPUNA
43. “The same thing Police officers are charging people for are the same thing they are doing.”
BARRACKPORE
44. Cricketer, PLEASANTVILLE
45. Mason, MORIAH
46. Salesman, ROUSILLAC

Rachel Amy Rochford's 2009 Exhibition DOCUMENT ME

Exhibition opens Friday 19 June 2009
6.30 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.

Exhibition continues Saturday 20 June, 2009 - Monday 29 June, 200
10.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.

The Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago
Corner of Jamaica Blvd. and St. Vincent Avenue
Federation Park, Port of Spain, Trinidad. W.I.

Email: rrochford@gmail.com
Telephone: 1 868 470 7092