Longing for a hero

2025
Italian stainless steel fabric (deadstock), mohair, black-glazed porcelain, metal chains

For the exhibition True Belief, Lara Rocho work revisits the figure of Saint George – a legend that has transformed over centuries. Between traces of historical existence, medieval heroization, and mythical exaggeration, a powerful symbol emerged: the knight who slays the dragon, rescues the princess, and embodies courage, faith, and the triumph over evil.

This story continues to resonate. In every era it has been retold, reshaped according to the values and desires of its time. Saint George is not only the patron saint of many countries but also a projection surface for the timeless longing for heroes and miracles. Carl Gustav Jung described the hero figure as a universal archetype, deeply rooted in
the collective unconscious. The hero is more than a warrior or adventurer: he is the psychological image of man‘s courageous attempt to recognize and transform himself.

This work translates this symbolism into a personal, fairy-tale aesthetic. Textile and metal intertwine to create a visual narrative in which brutality and softness, struggle and reassurance, coexist. Hardness and tenderness are not opposites but form a field of tension that speaks of vulnerability as much as of strength. Her goal is to tell her own story, which is visually articulated like a mythology of its own and speaks to viewers through its atmosphere. These worlds are created by combining textile elements in contrast to ceramics and metals, strong tactile surfaces. Just as the legend of Saint George has been reimagined throughout history, I continue it in a contemporary and personal vision.
The installation opens a space between reality and myth, between the everyday and the fantastic. Materials become a portal, sustaining the belief in wonder and the enchanted – the possibility of something beyond the visible. Longing for a Hero is therefore not a retelling of an old legend but a new mythology: a layered, textile narrative that speaks of hope, vulnerability, and the enduring power of believing in the fantastic.