The Finnish Museum of Photography
Basement floor
The Cable Factory, Kaapeliaukio 3, staircase G, Helsinki

15.9.–19.11.2023

Most acts of intimate partner violence take place within the four walls of the home. Continuous culture of silence around this topic makes the experiences of a large part of our population – those who live or have lived in a violent relationship – invisible.

Patricia Rodas (b.1972) explores in her art the experiences of domestic violence and the traces they leave behind. In Rodas’ images, one can see threatening elements but also something that wraps itself around one like a protective embrace.

Repetition is an important element in Rodas’ work. The repeated experience – whether positive or negative – becomes ingrained in the body. Rodas explores this bodily experience through the subjects and landscapes she depicts equating them with the repetitiveness of violent experiences.

Rodas also wants to highlight the healing from violent experiences which is often a lifelong process. She describes the different stages of healing,which proceed according to their own laws rather than in a linear order. Healing can be like a black hole that sucks you in, in the middle of a chaos of unprocessed emotions, unraveling everything.  But equally a person may suddenly emerge from the darkness stronger than ever.

Patricia Rodas (b.1972) is a Finnish photographer living and working in Ostrobothnia, Finland.