josef chladek

on photobooks and books

Rodrigo Ramos - Ex Corde, Self published, 2015, Mexico city

Softcover, 8 diptychs of paper in a folder, design by Emiliano Monila, Alejandra Magdaleno, Rodrigo Ramos.

Inspired by the pictorial image of the martyr San Sabastian, Ex Corde (Latin phrase that means “from the heart”) seeks to be an assessment of the human experience. Interest in corporeality brought Rodrigo Ramos (1976) to the realization of a documentary project with boxers and fighters from different disciplines; however, he wanted to distance himself from the representation of the sport by way of images that made reference to pain and fragility.

In Rodrigo’s words: “The idea wasn’t to do a photo reportage about the sport but rather, to take a topic and bring it to a personal space. For me, the image of the boxer is like a symbol of the struggle that anyone can have to achieve something in life.”

During a stay in Madrid, Spain, Rodrigo developed this project in which the images address the topics of vulnerability and masculinity—concepts that revolve around the figure of the martyr San Sebastian.

The use of the photobook as a resource was natural, since with it, a narrative was offered that strengthened the argument. As Rodrigo explains: “The idea to carry out this book project was to provide me with a narrative resource that permitted my photographic work to reach new levels of discourse.”

The dummy of the photobook was selected as a finalist on the shortlist of 30 projects in the Dummy Photobook Award Luma Rencontres 2015 in Arles, France, and was eventually self-published in Mexico City in the month of November, 2015, with the help of the Hydra+fotografía platform and Cuchara Diseño.

Order at Rodrigo's site.

Pages: 32
Place: Mexico city
Year: 2015
Publisher: Self published
Size: 29 x 40 cm (approx.)