Roosje Barelds-Boer & Rosalinde Regterschot (Duo RoRo)

Design - Graphic & Interaction Design

The Face of Impermanence

The Face of Impermanence 
We are Roosje Barelds-Boer and Rosalinde Regterschot, and we are a graduation duo this year. The question that we have been working with during our graduation year, is the following: ‘How can underlying emotions, tied to the cycle of impermanence in human relationships, be captured in a photographic image?’  We formulated this question, because we are both interested in the fact that noting in life is permanent. Rather, everything is impermanent: all that surrounds us will eventually come and go, that includes other people and ourselves.

As humans, it is natural and universal for us to seek and make human connection. We form relationships. They bloom and eventually will weather. This might happen for multiple reasons, with a broad spectrum of emotions involved. This is what connects us as a duo: our common interest in the fact that forming relationships in life and the emotions present within this process are inevitable. 

Emotions that we experience within this cycle of impermanence are rarely unambiguous, ‘neat’, black and white. Which emotions are invisible? Illogical? Unwanted? Contradictory, but still present? Our work focuses on these emotions by giving them a ‘face’ in arranged scenes, documented by photography. 

For many people, it is easier to show wanted and positive emotions, rather than the emotions that we experience on a deeper, more intimate level. These emotions are closely connected to who we are as humans and how we truly experience life. Having said this, it is important to emphasize that this does not only include difficult and/or negative emotions but also comforting ones, like the deep love you feel for a person that you also deeply miss. Within our collaboration, we found a joined view on the importance of making space for these deeper emotions that are often difficult to show. We want to give the audience an opportunity to find a more emotional and deeper part of themselves within our work. Not to bring discomfort, but a feeling of mutual experience: all of us are trying to find our way into regulating and balancing our emotions. And instead of hiding these deeper emotions, we can find connection with each other and ourselves, by opening up about them. 

Contact

Instagram