Cedar Roppola
Recent work
My work is process-driven and rooted in embodied practice, particularly through the influence of Butoh dance. This practice responds to the environment and place while non-consciously unpacking personal histories stored in the body. In these moments, personal experiences of violence collide with the environmental, creating a deeply layered dialogue. I created a series of "private performances with the earth," capturing these through video recordings that are heavily layered, altered, and collaged with sound. This recent body of work explores ecofeminism, examining power structures, patriarchal capitalism, and the connections between ecological and gendered violence. It reflects on surviving domestic and sexual violence, as well as the processes of renewal and reclaiming a sense of self, while positioning the body within a larger context of the landscape and natural forces. Personal mythology plays a central role in my work, evolving alongside references to Finnish mythology from my ancestry, which resonate with these struggles. Historical echoes of gendered violence, such as the witch burnings, also inform the themes I explore, creating a dialogue between the past and the present.
I remembered
who I was,
2024
Performance - AV work
BURN,
2024
Performance - AV work
Timeless Violence,
2024
AV work
Portal,
2024
Performance - AV work
Drawing series
This drawing is from a series of work driven by a deep concern for existential threat of mass extinction, particularly focusing on the decline of insects within the ecosystem. Curiously approaching the interplay between the industrial capitalist system and the intrinsic power of insects as the biological foundation for all terrestrial ecosystems. I tend to view things in mythological proportions and as currents of energy. I imagine a epic battle between monumental systems, an "Electric God" and an "Insect God”. However, the saga is grounded in reality. About 300 million years ago the carboniferous period which is well known for its dense swampy forests which became most of the coal we use today, was also inhabited by giant insects. Today, insect populations are declining rapidly, 8 times faster than any other fauna, and could be gone within the century. Which puts all life at risk. One of the leading causes of this is climate change. I imagine the spirits of ancient giant insects are being released with emissions from fossil fuels return as a warning and a challenge, reminding us of their tiny decedents decline today, 40% of which are threatened species. The insects I draw are threatened, endangered or recently extinct species. Giant in scale and juxtaposed with local electrical substations.
