Jono Rotman

b. 1974, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand
Lives and works in San Francisco, USA

Jono Rotman was born in New Zealand and raised in a rural valley near Wellington. His work is predicated on the idea that civilisation is a delicate fiction. He focuses on the point at which different power structures meet, for example amidst the colonial process or at the collision of civilisation and the natural world. This often draws Rotman to subjects on the edges of society. In New Zealand, his work has explored incarceration and gangs, leading him to consider his own place as a New Zealander of European descent in the colonial history of the country. In the US, Rotman's work touches on similar themes, exploring the shifting violent ingredients of the American empire.

Working with large-format film, and often producing works on a large scale, Rotman is attracted to those living on the edge of society. Often extracting his subjects from context, Rotman seeks to harness the potential of the analogue process to transmit spirit. His work neither presumes a ground truth, nor provides a packaged narrative. However, each photograph is offered as a symbol of an entire ecology. Rotman depicts challenging subjects, aiming to confront the things that scare us most. By creating beautiful images of terrible things, his goal is to elicit an experience of the sublime.

Rotman studied printmaking at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina and photography at Wellington Polytechnic. Rotman’s work is represented in collections in the USA and Australasia. His work has been exhibited in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. He lives in San Francisco, where he is married to a neuroscientist and has two young children.

Gow Langsford Gallery has represented Jono Rotman since 2013.