Rochelle Costi was a multimedia artist who used photography, video and installation to explore the different subjective and affective dimensions of urban daily life, which is often overshadowed by the fast pace of modern existence. In Quartos São Paulo [São Paulo Rooms], Costi documented the rooms of sixteen individuals from different social backgrounds living in the metropolis of São Paulo. The collection encompasses a wide range of dwellings, from slum tenements and brothels to upscale residencies. The photographs, enlarged and printed at nearly life-size scale, take on a spatial and sculptural quality, inviting the viewer to step into the intimate space enclosed between four walls. By capturing the rooms devoid of their inhabitants, illuminated solely by gentle natural light filtering from outside, and showing only the objects that occupy them, Costi reveals the profound psychological dimension inherent to the aesthetics of daily existence. Notably, in all the works, the only recurring element is the bed; according to the artist, it is during sleep, in the isolation of our own consciousness, that we can get closer to a sense of equality among human beings.
— Danilo Cavalcante, curatorship intern, 2023
