Walking Rituals (2020-ongoing)
Walking Rituals is Rice’s method of examination and careful collection that results in elimination, preservation, reusing, and discarding. Each object has a spirit breathing life into its existence. Fully influenced by animism in Appalachian, Honduran, and Judeo-Christian beliefs, the sculptural drawings also function as material commentary on the Anthropocene and futuristic world-building. Eventually, these pieces can be found in drawing installations depending on their object-to-object relationships and how they actively communicate with each other, the surrounding space, and the witnesses. Implied motion and direction formally inform these decisions while Roca Rice’s assigned personalities to the objects reference the artist’s invented narrative.