Fallen Grace

Fallen Grace I & II, 2018-2019, picture women falling down from a force of invisible aggressor,
women falling down in a calm, open scenery, while real violent acts take place in private spaces, unseen. As an observer of the images, you witness an intentional act of violence with an imaginary perpetrator, but in a landscape that is open to all. 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 action – whether positive or negative – becomes deeply rooted in the body. I explore this bodily experience through the motifs and landscapes depicted, equating them with the repetition of violent experiences. The body of work Unreported, 2019, with burning dresses floating freely in the Finnish landscape is a manifestation towards domestic violence and the hidden statistics regarding domestic violence, in Finland, the second most violent country for women in Europe. These three photo series belong to my ongoing project Unseen Circumstances.

Patricia Rodas (1972) is a Finnish photography artist based on the west coast of Finland. Rodas work explores experiences of domestic violence and the traces it leaves behind. Most cases of domestic violence take place within the four walls of the home. The experiences of a large part of our population – those who live or have lived in a violent relationship – become invisible. She works with a 4×5 view camera on analogue film and sometimes with the written word.