Abel Rodríguez
Abel Rodríguez
Mogaje Guihu, born in Cahuinarí, Putumayo, in 1941, is a sage of the Nonuya people who possesses an ancestral knowledge of medicinal plants and of the ecological systems of the Amazon basin. In the 90s, running away from the Colombian armed conflict, Abel’s family left La Chorrera, their native territory. In order to preserve his legacy, he started drawing his knowledge seeking to transmit the cosmovisions of his people, not only about the jungle, but also about the human condition. Following his first exhibition “Historia natural y política” at the Museo Botero in Bogotá in 2008, his work has been part of numerous exhibitions in the Americas and in Europe. In 2020, Mogaje Guihu presented his first European solo exhibition “Abel Rodríguez” at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporart Art in Newcastle, UK. Some of the collective exhibitions in which he has participated include “Among the trees” at Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London (2020); the Toronto Biennial of Art (2019); Carnegie International (2018); “Water weavers: The River in Contemporary Colombian Visual and Material Culture,” Bard Graduate Centre Gallery, New York (2014); and Documenta 14, Kassel (2014). In 2014, Mogaje Guihu received the Prince Claus Principal Laureate Award for his work as a botanist, his artwork and his exceptional knowledge and understanding of the Amazonian ecosystem.
Mogaje Guihu, born in Cahuinarí, Putumayo, in 1941, is a sage of the Nonuya people who possesses an ancestral knowledge of medicinal plants and of the ecological systems of the Amazon basin. In the 90s, running away from the Colombian armed conflict, Abel’s family left La Chorrera, their native territory. In order to preserve his legacy, he started drawing his knowledge seeking to transmit the cosmovisions of his people, not only about the jungle, but also about the human condition. Following his first exhibition “Historia natural y política” at the Museo Botero in Bogotá in 2008, his work has been part of numerous exhibitions in the Americas and in Europe. In 2020, Mogaje Guihu presented his first European solo exhibition “Abel Rodríguez” at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporart Art in Newcastle, UK. Some of the collective exhibitions in which he has participated include “Among the trees” at Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London (2020); the Toronto Biennial of Art (2019); Carnegie International (2018); “Water weavers: The River in Contemporary Colombian Visual and Material Culture,” Bard Graduate Centre Gallery, New York (2014); and Documenta 14, Kassel (2014). In 2014, Mogaje Guihu received the Prince Claus Principal Laureate Award for his work as a botanist, his artwork and his exceptional knowledge and understanding of the Amazonian ecosystem.
