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About

Artist Statement

I engage in practice-based research across various media, including performance, video, sound, painting, drawing, and performance, with a background in puppetry and sculpture. My work draws from concepts like ecological post- humanism and eco-feminism, connecting these ideas with personal experiences of queerness, violence, displacement, and neurodivergence. Embodiment is central to my practice, developed through intensive Okido Yoga and Butoh dance training and practice, which resist fixed or traditional structures and foster personal transformation. These practices investigate the nature of being, and help me explore transitional spaces between states of being, the flux between binary states. And, to engage the body in relationship with place and environment. Whether it is through dance, drawing or video or sound, I am consistently responding to the subtle relationships, feelings and sensations between body and place. I also examine power dynamics through a mythological lens, (particularly my ancestral Finnish folklores and traditions, such as The Kalevala as well as a general approach toward subjects) informed by eco- feminism. My work often reflects on issues like mass insect extinction, ecological destruction and violence against women and patriarchal capitalism, emphasising their interconnectedness. By situating my work in these theoretical frameworks, I explore the complexities of change and transformation. As well as seek for ways in which to over-come, heal and connect with self, place and other (both human and non-human).

Biography

Cedar Roppola is a multidisciplinary artist based in Meanjin (Brisbane), working across Butoh dance, video, sound, painting, textiles, and puppetry. Their work explores embodiment, eco-feminism, post-humanism, Finnish mythologies, and the transformative connection between body and place. Cedar holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts with Honours from QUT and a Master of Professional Practice in Performing Arts (First Class) from USC.

Trained in Butoh under masters like Masaki Iwana, Akira Kasai, and Yoshito Ohno, and others, Cedar performed widely across Europe and Japan, was a resident artist at Supperclub Amsterdam, and  performed with butoh group Dairakudakan and solo performance at the Kamaitachi Village Art Festival, Japan. Since returning to Australia in 2014, they have presented solo works at various ARIs, and collaborations presented at QaGOMA, Dark Mofo, Metro Arts, the Museum of Brisbane and major festivals.

Cedar founded Kimera Productions, a physical theatre company known for sculptural costumes and puppetry, featured at events like Woodford Folk Festival and Dreamworld. They have run weekly Butoh classes for many years and curate the interdisciplinary performance series POLLINATOR, which ran monthly at House Conspiracy for over a year before extending to various venues. 

Roppola is a tutor and course coordinator in design courses at UniSC, is a key performer at Blueys world, and works as freelance performer, facilitator, face painter and artist model. 

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