Meet Leandro Rodriguez

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Leandro Rodriguez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Leandro , thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

The contemplation of nature is my driving force. In every creative process, I am like a child preparing to explore the unknown. It is then that the environment provides me with images and experiences for my work.
This constant dialogue between observing the natural world and the knowledge acquired through research and reading nourishes my creativity and drives me to continue exploring new ideas.
The most significant moment in the creative process is when I discover the medium I will use to work, which could result in a photographic series, the creation of ceramic or glass pieces, the installation of an urban intervention or the creation of an artistic action. This space for exploration allows me to connect all the influences I have collected and translate them into my artistic projects.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am a photographer and visual artist from Argentina and I currently live in Buenos Aires. I completed a career in Photography and have participated in various workshops, seminars, and art clinics, both in public and private institutions. My first professional works as a photographer were related to dance, performance and theatre. My first artistic works had to do with the use of images and their deconstruction, creating photographic collages series that initially focused on male bodies and, later, on insects, which I digitally manipulated to transform them into new images.
Since 2016, I’ve been working with sweet potatoes and their germination as artistic elements combining different media such as photography, glass, drawing, and ceramics to talk about life, death and, above all, transformation. In 2020, I started “Batata Florecida”, an urban intervention project in which I place numbered sweet potatoes in public spaces for people to collect, germinate, and share the material through social media. This project also includes a global virtual garden, for anyone who is interested in germinating a sweet potato to participate. For more information, you can visit the project website: www.batataflorecida.com .
Later, my interest in Andean civilizations led me to historical research and deeper exploration in ceramics. For the past three years, I’ve been creating pieces to talk about the relationship of human beings with everyday and ritual objects throughout history. Besides, I keep on developing “Batata Florecida” project, carrying out interventions in different parts of my country. My intention is to take it to more and more locations and to other countries. Recently, I’ve begun working with photographic material based on a large number of slides I found in the street in order to create a book in which archive and fiction interact.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Interest, action, and experience are the driving forces of my artistic journey. I deeply enjoy the surprise of discovery, the excitement of realizing my ideas, and what emerges from each experience. Art is my portal to a constantly evolving world, where there are no borders. The advice I can give is to make, not to limit ourselves to ideas, to look for creative freedom and to develop our own style. Interacting with artists and generating community projects with others is also very important.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

This past year I’ve been making more complex ceramic pieces so I think that all the hours working in the studio have become a time of profound satisfaction and learning. I’m fascinated by the connection with clay, the transformation that occurs, and the mystery of fire, where uncertainty and surprise are part of the charm. This led me to embrace frustration and to accept the uncontrollable as important parts of the process. Sometimes the only solution is to start over, while other times, fire takes its course and unpredictable results emerge.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rodriguezleandro.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leandrorodriguezph/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leandro-javier-rodríguez-naranjo
• Other: http://batataflorecida.com/
  https://www.instagram.com/batataflorecida/
  https://www.instagram.com/huertabatataflorecida/

Image Credits

All the images were made by me, with the exception of the two portraits that were taken by Federico Casalinuovo and the photographic record of the urban action by Soledad Vecchio.