What was your everyday life like before you identified as an artist or a photographer? Did your initial environment influence your perspective? Was there a distinct catalyst or experience that pushed you towards an artistic path?

Patricia Rodas (PR): In practice, it is very difficult if not almost impossible to make a living through art alone, so this has of course guided me regardless of my will. I have a background as a newspaper and commercial photographer and have been working as such on and off for more than 10 years. But really, art photography was the area of study that appealed to me the most. Although, I can say that working in documentary and commercial photography has taught me a lot that I can use now and that ultimately also made me dare to take the step towards art photography as my strongest expression. I am also fortunate to have been granted 1-year work grants several times so that I could focus solely on art.

© Patricia Rodas from the series "Black Silent Holes (surprises me)"

© Patricia Rodas from the series "Black Silent Holes (surprises me)"

© Patricia Rodas from the series "Black Silent Holes (surprises me)"

Tell us something about your educational path and if it has informed your journey at all? Anyone has been instrumental in guiding your visual consciousness and practical evolution?

PR: I have a Bachelor degree from NOVIA, the university of applied sciences from 2002, Finland. I am very grateful that I studied at that time, at the crossroads between analogue and digital photography. In practice, this meant that for the first two years I could solely focus on the analogue process and it shaped me enormously. Countless hours in the darkroom, to learn both black&white and colour, have led to what I am today. In 2022, I took an MA in Culture and Art, Entrepreneurship in Culture and Art, Photography from NOVIA. The teachers at the Photo Department Emma Westerlund, Lars Rebers and Paul Bevan have asked those difficult questions that have led me forward in my projects. There are many people who could be mentioned who have been crucial to my development as a photo artist and as a human being. I believe that one cannot, or should not, separate the self from the artistic expression. They belong together.

What are the themes that interest you, what generally attracts your observation?

PR: For almost ten years I have been investigating a topic that, according to statistics, directly or indirectly affects the entire Finnish population; domestic violence. In 2019, domestic violence reported to the authorities increased by 7% compared to the previous year. According to data from the police and shelters show that violence increased during the pandemic due to isolation and distanceworking from home.
Intimate partner violence is surrounded by a culture of silence that makes the experience of violence invisible, even though it affects a large part of the world's population.
In my latest series of images, I want to highlight the healing of violent experiences, which is often a lifelong process. I'm interested in describing the different stages of healing, which follow their own laws rather than a linear order. Healing can be like a black hole that sucks you in, amidst the chaos of unprocessed emotions, and tears everything up. But in the same way, you can suddenly emerge from the darkness stronger than before.

© Patricia Rodas from the series "(I am) Seizing the Silence I, 2022"

What is your approach to the medium? Do you privilege any camera or process in particular? How do you envision or conceptualize the projects?

PR: I shoot analogue with a 4x5 inch view camera or with a 4x5 inch pinhole camera. I work both in colour and black&white and nowadays I develop the black&white negatives only in environmentally friendly alternatives such as caffenol. I process the colour negatives myself in c-41 but scan the negatives and image process them digitally. For me, the analog approach is a meditative process that allows me to be slow, to take time for planning and to continuously reflect on my artistic work. Film is expensive, which means I don't lightly try out an artistic idea unless I'm absolutely sure it will lead somewhere. And I am completely in love with the unfinishedness that sometimes occurs, the surprises in expression.

Have you undertaken projects or tasks that required you to venture into unfamiliar territories, physically or emotionally? If so, how do you cope with the uncertainties and daunting photo ventures? What have been some defining challenges or milestones on your artistic path?

PR: The topic is not unfamiliar, as I myself have experience of an abusive relationship. But it is also something that is constantly changing, the emotional work itself, as I try to look at this topic from different perspectives. I started from a victim's perspective but continue from a survivor's perspective. And I don't think you can stop there either without including society's perspective and also the perpetrator's perspective. Telling the stories of victims is important, but it remains static, it leads almost nowhere, if you talk about the current debate that is going on or concrete actions from a political point of view. For the topic to gain visibility, I think one has to look at the topic from different angles, from different social levels and address it by actively keeping the discussion alive, also through art.
I feel that the subject is given a different visibility and perhaps also reception, to a certain extent, through art photography.
Domestic violence is affecting a huge part of our population, I want to see more political involvement and concrete actions.

© Patricia Rodas from the series "(I am) Seizing the Silence II, 2022"

Does research play any significant role in your practice? Do you dialogue with other experts when developing your projects?

PR: In most of the series, I work from an emotional spectrum that is directly linked to my own or others' experiences of domestic violence. I read a lot of factual books on the subject and keep regular discussions with experts in the field.

How far people, communities are included in your project? Or in what ways do you hope to give back or contribute to the broader artistic community or world at large with your work?

PR: I hope to develop my art practice into a way to connect personal intimate feelings and traumas with a broader more nuanced public dialogue on the subject. I often experience that the common opinion about domestic violence is that it is a personal problem, but I believe it is very much a social issue that needs more political recognition than it does today. It is one of my core values or messages through my art; The personal is political.

© Patricia Rodas from the series "(I am) Seizing the Silence I, 2022"

Tell us about the project Unseen Circumstances. What is the motivation and the theme you addressed?

PR: Unseen Circumstances - brings together 7 long-term photo series about domestic violence. My first photo series The Most Intimate Hideaways, 2016-17 in black&white originates from my own experience of an abusive relationship. Through a tangible procedure such as intentionally hitting the body of the camera or kicking the tripod, I refer to the place that should feel safe; a home, but in an abusive relationship becomes an unsafe and dangerous place.
The origin of the method was purely accidental. I tripped over the tripod while trying to keep warm during the long exposure times and realized that this was something that accentuated the contour of my series of images: to reconstruct atmospheres related to the violent relationship I had experienced. The methodology of long exposure times and a hands-on approach formed a performative strategy that I embraced and has become an important element of my photography practice. The Most Intimate Hideaways was the beginning of a lifelong exploration of the subject through art.
Through my performative aspect, the camera becomes an instrument of investigation, a tool to map human traces and experiences of domestic violence, a documentation of contemporary moments but with a future focus. I draw a subjective description of reality rather than an exposure of a private life.

© Patricia Rodas from the series "The Most Intimate Hideways"

© Patricia Rodas from the series "The Most Intimate Hideways"

The landscape plays an important role in my photography. It can be seen as a protective embrace, as a threatening element and/or as an invitation to society, an opportunity to (re)act. Repetition is also an important element in my work. The repeated experience - whether positive or negative - becomes deeply rooted in the body. I explore this bodily experience through the motifs and landscapes depicted, equating them to the repetition of violent experiences in a relationship.

In reality, most violent acts take place in the private space, invisible to most people. By placing the violent act in the landscape, open to everyone I want to question personal versus collective responsibility.
In the body of work Unreported, 2019 where I set fire to dresses floating freely in the Finnish landscape, is a manifestation against domestic violence in Finland, the second most violent country for women in Europe. The name Unreported refers to the unknown dark figures of domestic violence. In the latest series I explore the different phases of the healing process, healing from the experience of an abusive relationship can take a lifetime.

© Patricia Rodas from the series "Unreported"

How does this work fit in your identity as a photographer or visual artist and if relates any with your previous works?

PR: I feel a responsibility to continue exploring the topic artistically to, hopefully, raise awareness of the multifaceted nature of this subject. To raise awareness that violence in a relationship is never a personal problem but very much a societal issue.

What are the practical difficulties you faced in its development?

PR: Have you considered that by photographing the women who fall, you become in that moment the perpetrator? I was asked by one of my friends about her possible participation in the photo project Fallen Grace I. It made me uncomfortable, but I felt she was right in her statement. I was witnessing and perpetuating, an act of violence staged by me, with the woman representing part of my story. Discussions on the subject during the photo session revealed that three of the 7 women photographed had their own experiences of intimate partner violence that I was not aware of! I was asking for extreme emotional involvement from the participants in my photo project and I felt a great responsibility to create a safe atmosphere during the photo session. I am utterly grateful for those meetings.

© Patricia Rodas from the series "Fallen Grace I"

© Patricia Rodas from the series "Fallen Grace I"

When I was about to photograph Unreported, it was an extremely hot summer and the ground was very dry. I have never before followed the weather report as meticulously and obsessively as I did that summer! I had everything planned in advance; the location, the dress and all the necessary equipment to immediately extinguish the fire and rule out a ground fire.
My closest ones were aware that after a rain shower they would immediately drop everything and rush to help me realize my photo series...

From an editorial point of view, what choices guided you in the selection of the final portfolio?

PR: It always starts with a vision and a certain feeling which is then re-examined and re-examined until it sticks. The slower I am, the better, i.e. when a series of images are allowed to take time, the final result has time to change and usually for the better.

What relevant takeaways have you achieved from this project both with respect to the topic and your authorial practice?

PR: Nowadays I trust that the series of images I am currently working on is a continuation of what I have done before. I work methodically and slowly but purposefully. Recently, the idea has arisen to pass on the knowledge and know-how I have in photography through tutoring or mentoring, which I sometimes am able to do.

How would you ideally showcase this project to the public?

PR: In an exhibition, in a book, in an open debate... And in general how do you cope with advice, criticism, setbacks from the audience or experts? Unseen Circumstances has been shown several times as an exhibition in Finland, recently at The Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki. 
It is also, of course, about continued visibility of the project through publications, exhibitions and artist talks and the accessibility to a larger audience. It is challenging to reach out to people. Not everybody is familiar with visiting museums or galleries. Books are great but expensive to make and distribute. I strongly believe in collaborations with established organizations that work with the topic and I also strongly believe in actively holding artist talks in connection with, for example, an exhibition or during smaller events.
Advice, criticism must be seen as an opportunity to reflect on your choices. Being questioned is part of the process and if you can listen, you can also learn something.

The scenario in which photography is presented and discussed has changed considerably in recent years with the spread of ICT and the digital world. How do you relate to social networks and this expanded field of photography? How do you see the future of the medium evolving? And communication of one's own work...

PR: I see social media as a way to market yourself, to advertise what is current, etc. Instagram is a great way to show your portfolio or even unfinished sketches and experiments. IG provides a visibility that the website has lost. I think it is great to follow photographers whose work I admire and find similarities to what I do. There are so many talented photographers! The digital world does tire me, I must admit, I update too rarely. I try to keep my website up to date by publishing finished series in their entirety there, it serves more as a reference to tell who I am as an artist.

© Patricia Rodas from the series "No More. I betray the covenant of silence"

In this fast changing environment have there been periods where you felt the need to redefine or pivot your artistic direction? Or to find your grounding again? How do you handle evolution in your life/work and transformation of visual-identity?

PR: Of course, I sometimes doubt my choice of subject, my way of expressing myself and my stubbornness to work analogue. But after a while it's there again, that passion, that conviction that yes, I do have something to say and it's important. Especially if I receive feedback from somebody who experienced domestic violence and was touched by my photoart. That keeps me going on.

And do you have any projects in the pipeline? Or topics/urgencies you would like to address?

PR: I am lucky to have received a 6 months working grant which means I can solely experiment new ideas. I am currently working with light substances such as ash, charcoal or flour where I let them fly in the air in front of the object or otherwise make imprints through textiles or specific activities. When repeating an activity in front of the camera enough times, the expression will change through the repetition. Investigating the external and internal change through the camera interests me where the nature laws like gravity plays an interesting role for the result to come. In some ways, the direction seems to be towards a more abstract expression.
Under supervision by Paula Roush I ́m learning the craft of bookbinding. Learning to make independent books opens up a whole new world where the dramaturgy is completely different compared to an exhibition and which appeals to me greatly. I write poetry and in this exciting format I can combine photography with text in dialogue with each other.

Any interesting books that you recommend and that recently inspired you and why?

PR: Photography-A Feminist History, by Emma Lewis is a very interesting book about self portrait and the gaze. On Being an Angel, about Francesca Woodman ́s art by Moderna Museet is also a book to mention. There is a kind of movement in her aesthetic world, where space, environment together with objects and her own body are intertwined and exposed to her own exploratory gaze. I always come back to her, she is a great role model in what she created.

How would you advise students embarking on their artistic journeys based on your experiences?

PR: I think we should dare to see ourselves as visual storytellers who can impact people. Explore your special areas of interest, i.e. something that touches you deeply. Only then will there be an honest questioning and a depth you might otherwise miss. Perhaps by starting to embrace our own story, from an inside point of view, we can add raw strength. To focus on our strength as survivors, we already changed our perspective.
If you have something you want to explore but are facing resistance, in yourself or/and in others, then it might be a sign that you are on the right track. And don't give up on the first, second, third try! Give it time. Be a decelerator in our accelerating society.
To quote Georgia O ́Keeffe “ To see takes time”.

© Patricia Rodas from the series "No More. I betray the covenant of silence"

Which photographer would you like to read an interview about in Urbanautica Journal? Why?

Jessica Segerberg, a Swedish documentary photographer who works with a personal project about her family history.

LINK
Patricia Rodas (website)