On Porcelain
- Artist: Miguel Ángel Rojas
- Date: 1979
- Medium: 6 photographs, gelatin silver print on paper
- Dimensions: image, each: 84 × 127 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is *On Porcelain* by Miguel Ángel Rojas, a 1979 series of six black‑and‑white gelatin silver prints. The images capture a secret sexual encounter between two men inside a toilet cubicle at Bogotá’s Faenza Theatre cinema, a spot known as a cruising area for gay men. Rojas hid a camera, never looking through a viewfinder, and used an extended exposure to record the moment. The circular framing mimics a peephole, drawing attention to the voyeuristic gaze of the artist and the hidden nature of the act. The title references the porcelain tiles and fixtures that are unseen, suggesting a layer of concealment. At the time, same‑sex sex was illegal in Colombia; it would not be decriminalised until 1981. Rojas’s work challenges visibility, censorship and the social taboos of his era.
See it in person
On Porcelain is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
