Soledad

Ruby Rumie is a Colombian multimedia artist and photographer dedicated to exploring racial, economic, and social inequality through portraiture. Her regal photographs of marginalized figures in her native Bogota confront systemic inequality by illuminating the humanity and grace of her subjects. Using a simple white dress to highlight the weathered features of hardworking street vendors, Rumie evinces a straightforward beauty in her portraits. By working in collaboration with her subjects, many of whom descended from enslaved African people, Rumie’s portraits reject the enduring racial, social, and political hierarchies of her country’s colonial past. What remains are the indelible features of her sitters, who look into her lens with unflinching directness and invite a powerful encounter with the viewer.