In late October 2024, Francesca Martí and Miami-based businessman and philanthropist Rohan Marley worked together on their Resilience video project in Mallorca. The two originally met by coincidence in New York a year ago, and established an instant bond. The Resilience performance and video is one result of this meeting, filmed in the studios of LADAT at the university campus in Palma (Animation and Audiovisual Technologies unit of the UIB – Universitat de les Illes Balears)
«Many of my video projects result from a ‘happening’ rather than a carefully planned performance, and they are often the result of a coincidental meeting,» said Martí. «We are two very different people who found ourselves at the same place, with similar principles, philosophies and values. Our shared affinity is due to our sense of curiosity, genuine views and direct honesty. It’s our way to see life with strength and resistance and with the ability to recover – the true meaning of resilience.»
So what is the Resilience video project by Francesca Martí with Rohan Marley? The video performance is an interpretation by Marley of his place in the world and how he and Martí transmit their conversations about vitality and energy. The imagery includes a filmed portrait of Marley as he reflects upon his life, and some of those personal items which hold for him a special meaning. According to Martí, Resilience explores «Dual messages of spiritual purpose, transmitting a universal story, our message to the world.»
It also looks at how both Martí and Marley have their specific avatars – The Dreamer and The Lion – through whom they channel their beliefs. «And I am myself a dreamer,» said Marley during the shoot. «When we met, we were intrigued by our lives of discipline. We had both lost our fathers young, at the same age, and we have talked about how we have lived with this. I knew in my heart that Francesca is someone I wanted to work with. That she’s someone who wants more in their lives than just themselves.» Marley says that the Resilience project is about «Owning our own destiny, our right to passage, our right to life.»
Martí explains further. The aim of the project is to explore: «How someone is able to discard the unnecessary things in life and just be a pure human being, or a person with purity. The final video will be like a book about resilience, in all its aspects of life, in between family, beliefs, society, dreams and values. It explores how we can discard the materialistic excess and instead embrace the reality of love, with respect and generosity, to care about the world and nature.»
«I can share this project with a person like Rohan because he is an extraordinary man with strong beliefs and a powerful legacy, he likes to see people learning and growing and developing. Like me, he’s persistent. We don’t give up.»
Marley continues. «In life, each moment is a gift. The people you meet are a blessing. Vibration and positivity comes from a true union,» he says of his discussions with Martí. Although they come from such different backgrounds, the forthcoming video installation represents to Martí the «Thoughts and memories and messages we want to share to the world together.»
All photos by Johan Danielson, Stockholm