Zoë Cochia
The artist Zoë Cochia (Bucharest, Romania) works with photography, collage, film, and poetry. Her work, characterised by unexpected associations in a nearly baroque style, reflects the pain of loss and personal experiences. After the Romanian Revolution in 1989, Cochia found her way to the Netherlands, a journey that enriched her with a wealth of experiences. Through her visual language, she creates worlds that invite personal interpretation.
In addition to her work as a visual artist and teacher of visual arts and graphic design, Cochia is the driving force behind Niffo Galerie/Recycle Studio in the Afrikaanderwijk neighbourhood. “Niffo,” which means “cousin” in street slang, symbolises a familial and inclusive environment where different groups come together through art in all its forms. The gallery operates with a strong social focus, with community and connection at its core.
Over the course of three exhibitions at Garage Rotterdam, the curators Reza Afisina and reinaart vanhoe revisit the term underdeveloped – exploring diverse forms of art-practice and working methods. The term underdeveloped is among others inspired by the film development process – in which images come out over-orunderdeveloped. The word refers as well to overdeveloped notions of education, quality and value.
Reza Afisina and vanhoe’s understanding of an art-practice is one of building together instead of a focus on personal excellence. Through gatherings, re-modeling and collective working methods taking place live at Garage Rotterdam, Afisina and vanhoe aim to create a space where artists can connect their ideas and experiences with the input of visitors.
The first Underdeveloped exhibition addresses social and cultural urgencies in Rotterdam, using the space of Garage Rotterdam and the online platform lumbung.space as a digital living room and publishing tool for visitors to share both processes and outcomes with. Underdeveloped aims to build a connected chain of events, emphasizing community and development over definitions or conclusions.
Artists: Autonomy Lab (WdKA), Bellina Erby & Yen-Ting Kuan, Cooperativa Cráter Invertido, De uitpluizers, Hassan Omar Ahmad, Marishka Soekarna, ook_anders, Patrick Mudekereza, Reading Sideways Press, Spoiler (TBA), Tomi Hilsee, Vincent van Velsen, Zoë Cochia / Niffo Galerie.