META RIVER

Initiated during a residency at the Fotofestival Verzasca in the Ticino mountains, A Rock is A River is a reflection on our perception of nature and the illusion of our relationship with time. While a mountain may seem solid to us and water fluid, rock moves just as much as water, but on a different time scale.
Adopting a holistic perspective, Maya Rochat photographed the water using the American night technique, making it solid, and the rock in such a way as to give it movement, drawing inspiration from the dynamics of the rock's patterns. Through this work, she questions the limits of our perceptions and, more profoundly, our interpretation of reality. Although all natural elements are in perpetual motion, the conditioning of our life experience, limited to 100 years, makes us perceive rock as immobile.
Zooming in and out of the images reveals organic forms: the roots of a tree become similar to the patterns of water, giving the illusion that the tree is moving and flowing.
The series also includes archive images taken in Latin America by the artist's tiler father before she was born, then rephotographed by Maya Rochat 35 years later. These images, integrated into collages and superimposed, oscillate between digital and natural appearances, creating a perception that is both contemporary and timeless.

This series was published by Self-publish, Be happy in 2017, in collaboration with graphic designer Nicolas Polli. The book was a great success with book lovers. The special edition offers work on the object, with a printed edge that propels the book towards the object. 36 pages are spray-painted before binding, creating books that are all unique.

Exhibited from 2016 to 2023, including at Barraco Cultural (Puerto Alegre, Brazil), Disini (Singapore), Tate Modern (London), Mattatoio (Rome), Médiathèque des Abattoirs (Toulouse), Lily Robert (Paris), Vitrine Gallery (Basel), Despacio (San José, Costa Rica).