Roberto Huarcaya Amazogramas
Amazograma #1 (Detail), 2014
©Roberto Huarcaya and Rolf Art, Buenos Aires
Series
A storm discharges accumulated energy, not as mere destruction, but as a force seeking to restore balance. This image captures that essence: a 30m-long frame of an Amazonian palm lying on the bed of the Madre de Dios River.
While Huarcaya and his team were exposing a 30m roll of photosensitive paper placed beneath the tree, a storm erupted. Four flashes of lightning imprinted their energy onto the scene and onto the paper. Nature took control.
Would they accept the exposure had been lost or recognise that, after more than two years of seeking visually to capture the power and vitality of the Amazon, they had found the key? They had to work with the Amazon, not despite it. This image is a warning: we can foster a deep, empathetic connection with nature as a living subject, or a storm, natural or cultural, may end life as we know it.
About the photographer
Lima, Peru, 1959
Peruvian
Lima, Peru
About Roberto Huarcaya
Huarcaya graduated in psychology at the Universidad Católica del Perú and studied cinema and photography in Lima and Madrid.
In 1997–98, Huarcaya lived in Paris for a residency at Cité internationale des arts.
Huarcaya is known for his exploration of humanity’s relationship with the environment, working primarily with large-scale photographic installations and specialising in the photogram technique.
He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions, biennials and fairs including the 6th Havana Biennial (1997); PHotoESPAÑA, Madrid (1999 and 2025); the Venice Biennale (2001 and 2024), CoCA (Center on Contemporary Art), Seattle, Washington (2007) and the Daegu Photo Biennale in South Korea (2014).
More recently, his work has been exhibited at ARCOlisboa in Portugal (2017) and ARCO Madrid (2019 and 2025). Other venues have included Paris Photo (2019, 2023 and 2024); The Armory Show in New York (2022); Les Rencontres d’Arles, France (2023); Art Basel Miami (2024); Donggang International Photo, South Korea (2024) and Photo London (2024 and 2025).
In Lima, Huarcaya taught photography at the Universidad de Lima (1990–93), the Gaudi Institute (1993–97) and the Centro de la Fotografía, now Centro de la Imagen, where he was founder and director from 1999 to July 2022.