Viewing Rauschenberg’s unprecedented project of art as a tool for change is revived in London

ROCI was a seven year cultural exchange programme in the form of a touring exhibition, funded by Robert Rauschenberg with ambitions of promoting world peace and understanding. The American artist created works in each host country and so the exhibition evolved as it travelled to ten different countries over the course of seven years. Called The Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange – known as ‘ROCI’ (pronounced Rocky, after the artist’s pet turtle), the final exhibition took place in Washington D.C in 1991. This exhibition at Ropac’s gallery in Ely House is the first time the project has been shown since. Of ROCI, Rauschenberg maintained that “if the attitude of ROCI is going to work, we are dependent on a one-to-one contact with as many people as possible because the most dangerous weapon we have is a lack of understanding.”