Rodrigo
Gomez Rovira

Rodrigo Gomez Rovira

biography

Born in 1968 in Santiago de Chile. Arrives in France in 1973, with his family fleeing the Pinochet regime. After studying psychology at Paris X, he devoted himself to photography as a self-taught photographer. His first work is about the neighbourhood where he grew up in the Parisian suburbs, in Colombes. City for which he worked for two years as a municipal photographer.

In 1996 he embarked on a Polish cargo ship for 45 days to reach Chile. He then took his first photographs of his native country, driven by the need to carry out a work of memory, after more than 20 years of exile in France. In 2000, Rodrigo Gomez Rovira became correspondent in Latin America for Agence VU’ and created Chile’s first photographers’ agency: IMA (Imagen Memoria Autor).

Known for his work on Latin America, Rodrigo frequently participates in exhibitions all over the world, organises workshops (mainly in France and Chile), and was curator of the exhibition presented at the Visa pour l’image Festival in 2003, retracing the work of 4 Chilean photographers during the dictatorship.

In 2004, he received a grant from the Chilean state to make a vast report on Valparaíso (where he settled the following year), and participated in the AMRIK project, bringing together twenty-three photographers from ten countries to work on the Arab presence in South America. The exhibition of photographs has been shown in the majority of South American countries, as well as in the United States, Spain, Algeria, Egypt and Lebanon. His latest work, commissioned by the state, deals with social isolation in Chile.

Since 2005, he has been based in Valparaíso, a city he continues to photograph. His photographic work focuses on Latin America. He is currently working on a state commission on social isolation in Chile until 2010.

After Répertoire (Raul Gomez, 2013), which brings together his father’s photographic archives, Rodrigo Gomez Rovira will publish his work with Xavier Barral Ultimo Sur in 2019.

Series

Approval, 2020

Series | On 25 October 2020, Chile voted for the revision of its Constitution in a long-awaited referendum.

Ultimo Sur, 2020

Serie| Ultimo Sur is a hybrid work that combines in a single object the family album made by the Rodrigo Gomez Rovira's grandfather, found during a trip, and his own photographs of this vast region

Valparaiso, 2015

Serie| This series designed by Rodrigo Gomez-Rovira combines photographs taken by the artist in Valparaíso with found photographs purchased in Valparaíso over the last ten years.

The Hard Workers of the Peruvian Guano (The Chincha Islands), 2014

Series | The guano, produced through the accumulation of these birds’ excrements, is an extraordinary organic fertilizer. For that reason, in 1845, England and the United States began to exploit it. Today, the Peruvian government still exploits about twenty islands along the country’s coast.

Rapa Nui, Easter Island’s Mysteries, 2010

Serie| Located 4000 kilometres from Chilean coasts, lost in the Pacific Ocean, Easter Island gives shelter to ancient traditions and culture.

Pinochet Still Divides the Chile, 2006

Serie| In December 2006, after the death of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was announced, thousands of people gathered in the capital Santiago to let their joy explode.

The Esmeralda, 2009

Series | The Esmeralda, also known as La Dame Blanche is a Chilean training ship.

Chile, 2006

Series | In 2006, the Republic of Chile knew an historical presidential election. Michelle Bachelet was the first woman to access the supreme function.

Anvers / Valparaiso, 1996

Series | Antwerp-Valparaiso is the journey I undertook to return to Chile after 22 years in France.

Approval, 2020

Series | On 25 October 2020, Chile voted for the revision of its Constitution in a long-awaited referendum.

Ultimo Sur, 2020

Serie| Ultimo Sur is a hybrid work that combines in a single object the family album made by the Rodrigo Gomez Rovira's grandfather, found during a trip, and his own photographs of this vast region

Valparaiso, 2015

Serie| This series designed by Rodrigo Gomez-Rovira combines photographs taken by the artist in Valparaíso with found photographs purchased in Valparaíso over the last ten years.

The Hard Workers of the Peruvian Guano (The Chincha Islands), 2014

Series | The guano, produced through the accumulation of these birds’ excrements, is an extraordinary organic fertilizer. For that reason, in 1845, England and the United States began to exploit it. Today, the Peruvian government still exploits about twenty islands along the country’s coast.

Rapa Nui, Easter Island’s Mysteries, 2010

Serie| Located 4000 kilometres from Chilean coasts, lost in the Pacific Ocean, Easter Island gives shelter to ancient traditions and culture.

Pinochet Still Divides the Chile, 2006

Serie| In December 2006, after the death of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was announced, thousands of people gathered in the capital Santiago to let their joy explode.

The Esmeralda, 2009

Series | The Esmeralda, also known as La Dame Blanche is a Chilean training ship.

Chile, 2006

Series | In 2006, the Republic of Chile knew an historical presidential election. Michelle Bachelet was the first woman to access the supreme function.

Anvers / Valparaiso, 1996

Series | Antwerp-Valparaiso is the journey I undertook to return to Chile after 22 years in France.

Approval, 2020

Series | On 25 October 2020, Chile voted for the revision of its Constitution in a long-awaited referendum.

Ultimo Sur, 2020

Serie| Ultimo Sur is a hybrid work that combines in a single object the family album made by the Rodrigo Gomez Rovira's grandfather, found during a trip, and his own photographs of this vast region

Valparaiso, 2015

Serie| This series designed by Rodrigo Gomez-Rovira combines photographs taken by the artist in Valparaíso with found photographs purchased in Valparaíso over the last ten years.

The Hard Workers of the Peruvian Guano (The Chincha Islands), 2014

Series | The guano, produced through the accumulation of these birds’ excrements, is an extraordinary organic fertilizer. For that reason, in 1845, England and the United States began to exploit it. Today, the Peruvian government still exploits about twenty islands along the country’s coast.

Rapa Nui, Easter Island’s Mysteries, 2010

Serie| Located 4000 kilometres from Chilean coasts, lost in the Pacific Ocean, Easter Island gives shelter to ancient traditions and culture.

Pinochet Still Divides the Chile, 2006

Serie| In December 2006, after the death of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was announced, thousands of people gathered in the capital Santiago to let their joy explode.

The Esmeralda, 2009

Series | The Esmeralda, also known as La Dame Blanche is a Chilean training ship.

Chile, 2006

Series | In 2006, the Republic of Chile knew an historical presidential election. Michelle Bachelet was the first woman to access the supreme function.

Anvers / Valparaiso, 1996

Series | Antwerp-Valparaiso is the journey I undertook to return to Chile after 22 years in France.

Multimedia

Interviews

Chilean photographer Rodrigo Gomez Rovira
RFI
—
Interview by Muriel Maalouf, 2020

The Chilean photographer Rodrigo Gomez Rovira has just published “Utimo Sur”, a picture book about Chile, a country that blurs the boundaries between past and present. The culmination of an art as much as a work of memory.

Listen

Exhibitions

« ANVERS 1996 VALPARAISO  »
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Enclos du phare, Treffiagat – Festival photo du Guilvinec
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From June 1 to September 30, 2023

More information

« Echo des silences »
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Chateau de Seix, France
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From May 11 to June 18, 2023

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« 1973 CHILE 2023 »
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Image Singulières – Le Cyclo, Sète
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From May 18 to June 11, 2023

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books

Ultimo Sur

Editions Xavier Barral - 2019

Valparaiso : Cuaderno Fotographico

FIFV Ediciones - 2015

Ultimo Sur

Editions Xavier Barral - 2019

Valparaiso : Cuaderno Fotographico

FIFV Ediciones - 2015

Ultimo Sur

Editions Xavier Barral - 2019

Valparaiso : Cuaderno Fotographico

FIFV Ediciones - 2015