"The photographs taken at the Faenza Theatre launched a wider series that Rojas has continuously referenced in the rest of his work; indeed, they constitute a source of imagery which he has addressed and reworked time and again. The Faenza, Mogador and Imperio were movie theatres built in Bogota in the early twentieth century that gradually fell into decay as their surrounding neighbourhoods became dilapidated and other parts of the city became more affluent. Many of these theatres, which played continuous runs of action films, were also gay cruising spots. 

In keeping with the covert nature of his subject matter, Rojas furtively documented the goings-on in these places, taking photographs with a hidden camera, with the movie screen as the only source of light. It is significant that the erotic encounters Rojas captured took place against a backdrop of cinematic violence: a mingling of the sex drive and death drive that would reappear in his later, more political work around drug trafficking and its effects on society."

Text courtesy of Jose Roca. TATE MODERN. 2013. 

Miguel Ángel Rojas

Serie Faenza: Los Planetas. (1/3)

1976 - 2023

Digital image printed from color transparency

25 x 35 cm | 9 7/8 x 13 3/4 in.