Weekend Portfolio: Cora Rafe - To Know a Place; To Know a Body
Text and Photography by Cora Rafe
Photo Editing by Haley Winchell
About Cora Rate: Cora Rafe is a lens based creative residing in New York City whose work is concerned with the body, temporality, and concepts of family. She is currently pursuing a BFA from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Practicing in multiple mediums such as: photography, sculpture, and performance, she uses nature as a metric to explore ideas of impermanence. Her work is curious about what the body is capable of, the intangible quality of life harbored inside, and the residue these bodies leave behind. Morality is at the root of her preoccupation with the body.
About the Project: To Know a Place; To Know a Body
In September 2022 I walked the entire length of Manhattan barefoot. Sensorial observations create new textural environments in which to navigate; crossing over concrete slabs, asphalt, and subway grates with bare feet attuned me to the landscape of the city.
I began my walk at the Henry Hudson Bridge, pausing after 15.6 miles once I reached the edge of Battery Park. With each step I connected with the urban terrain, ritualistically performing the temporal nature of bodies in movement. I found my walk to be in contrast to those bustling around in a fast-paced city.
My awareness shifted from my envisioned destination to the monetary temperatures of the scolding asphalt, piercing gravel, and cool cobblestone. This forced a greater awareness of the limitations of the body and was a reminder of the importance of rest and relaxation along any journey.
The materials I crossed over and momentarily interacted with along my perforative walk inspired the accompanying sculptures.
My own feet were molded and cast in cement, and were made as an extension of the desire to unionize with my surroundings. The pair of severed feet represent this connection between a body and a place.
These sculptures mimic my journey with a playful permanence that underscore the idea of rest and stillness.
Can reconstructing our bodies out of elements in our environment push us to a point of understanding more about the two? Mindfully walking without the barrier of shoes upon gravel, cobblestones, and over manhole covers beckoned, if only briefly, a merger between the body and the cityscape.
