ROCIO DE ALBA

Multimedia Lens Based Artist & Conceptual Documentarian

In this slow developing series, I apply macro compositions and multimedia principles to chronicle my journey towards “radical acceptance of death.” Enlisting scientific and academic approaches, I embark on this cathartic endeavor by adopting ideologies from renowned theologians, philosophers, and contemporary artists actively pursuing healthy dialogues that attempt to shift society’s adverse perceptions of death.

In this quest I found peace by discovering that although end of life is inevitable, multiple components of my body are slowly dying the longer I live! This revelation commenced a healing process that further arouse my intrigue with self-portraiture. Unlike my previous projects, in this series, I combine engaging and inviting colors with brazen images of my naked body – often in states of extreme grotesque - to document the physical transition organically produced by aging. Working against male-dominant history of idealized female nude portraits, my images denounce marginalized dialogues about body shaming and death.

To further convey my concept, images are printed on digital film that are transferred onto a pork gelatin marble fresco embedded on top of 20x24" Medex wood panel substrates. Due to its propensity to mold, the founders of this fresco add a food preservative called Agar-Agar. If not for this additive, the images would fade and the gelatin would decay. My decision to employ this digital alchemy further negates society's obsession with youth, and our tenacity to defy that which is destined to expire.