Clara Rosarius

Artist Statement

Often writers and artists fall into patterns, sticking to forms that are familiar and comfortable. Breaking out of habits can be a challenge, but COUNTERCLOCK has given me the space and time to be experimental without the feeling of needing to produce something that is completely perfected or resolved. Being experimental is freeing but also constricting;  this dynamic has threaded its way into my projects. I’ve always been interested in the intersection between visual art and writing, and the ways in which they aid each other to express something about the human condition.

I split my time during the fellowship between three projects, all of which focused around the physical body, falsehood, and identity. I often wonder about individuality and the constraints that it comes with. I was particularly inspired by the poet Robert Creeley and the photographer Francesca Woodman, both of whom worked in more experimental forms often revolving around themes of physicality.  

My first project includes three poems and a series of photographs that are digitally manipulated. The center figure is surrounded by a white border, a way of both framing and highlighting the body. The white outline directs the viewer towards the figure and acts as a way of freezing movement and restricting mobility. The three poems are all found poems, cut-outs from various sources. Because I only used elements from already existing writing, I had less control over the process and created poems that went against my typical instinct.  

In my second project, I specifically sought out to experiment with book arts. I had never worked in this medium before, and so it was a chance for me to learn through trial and error (and many youtube videos) to present my photography and writing in a unique way. The image of the empty chair served as bookends to the persona photographs, a series meant to challenge ideas around stable identity. We are often expected to have a constant sense of self, matching our appearance and personality. The figure in the photographs is always the same person but plays different “characters,” each fairly stereotypical to their individual labels. These labels (The Mother, The Child, The Pregnant One) reduces each persona to a singular dimension, which 

The third project was somewhat of a mediation on the previous two projects, preserving this moment and time. Although I usually don’t write personal essays, it was a way for me to push myself, and to have a conversation with myself and the surrounding world. 

COUNTERCLOCK has been a wonderful opportunity, and I’m so thankful to have been able to be a part of this project. There are so many wonderfully talented individuals out there, and I thank Sarah for fostering and bringing together this community.