In 2011, Emma Rochester worked with sound artist HK (Paris) to create an evocative and eerie visual and sound response to Picasso’s Chapel of War and Peace, Vallauris, France. Within the chapel the colours of blue, white and mauve dominate the tunnel like space. Brusquely painted onto the curved walls are images of fertile abandonment and pain. The image which, singularly captivated Rochester’s attention, was a white horse plowing the sea. Plowing the sea speaks of a fecundity of the ocean and the potent nature of imagination. Yet Rochester also wanted to emphasise the personal temperament of the creator of the chapel, Picasso, for he had an unsettling view of the world and role of women within it, which was also permeable in the chapel.

In order to create a feeling of peace coupled with the eeriness of Picasso’s personal views, Rochester created ceramic horses, olive branches and created a new blue toned fabric design. She tied the ceramic works to meters of the custom made fabric, and dragged fabric and ceramics alike out to sea. The fabric was also fashioned into a 1950s blouse reminiscent of the era of which Picasso lived and worked in Vallauris.

Rochester then worked with sound artist HK, sending written responses to the sound artist so that he could gain a more detailed understanding of the physical space. Creating an 8 minute sound work that presents complicit sounds of peace and dislocation.