Abel Rodríguez (Mogaje Guihu) is an elder from the Nonuya ethnic group, native to the Cahuinarí river in the Colombian Amazon. Rodríguez’s work is grounded in his ancestral knowledge of the indigenous plants of the region, which was passed to him by his uncle.
In the 1990s, the Colombian armed conflict and the exploitation of natural resources in the rainforest displaced Rodríguez and his family from his native land and they moved to Bogota, the country’s capital.
As a way to preserve his knowledge and memory of his region, Rodríguez creates detailed paintings and drawings that depict the ecosystem of the rainforest in the Nonuya region with intricate details of the flora and fauna. His knowledge is highly valued by western botanists, and has gained international recognition over the past five years within the visual arts.
BALTIC is honoured to present Rodríguez’s first solo exhibition, for which the artist will create new works.