Rachel Amy Rochford
Document Me
19 - 29 June 2009

ARTIST'S STATEMENT FOR THIS SHOW

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

ALL PAINTINGS ARE ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
NAME
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 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 ROMAIN
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
 Steelbender , 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 pornograpghy",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