Sandra Eleta: A Gaze into the Heart of Panama
La Galerie Rouge is proud to present the first solo exhibition in France dedicated to the renowned Panamanian photographer Sandra Eleta. Since the early 1970s, Eleta has devoted her practice to portraying her native Panama with unwavering sincerity, independence, and spiritual depth. For her, the camera is not merely a tool but a conduit—a way to connect with others and to reflect on her own humanity while examining social structures, cultural histories, and the ethics of representation.
A Gaze into the Heart of Panama brings together four major bodies of work that reveal the humanist and documentary essence of Eleta’s vision.
Her seminal series La Servidumbre (1975–1989) focuses on two generations of domestic workers employed in affluent households in Spain and Panama—both countries living under dictatorial regimes at the time. Through images of daily labor and deliberate, self-possessed portraits, Eleta confronts the dynamics of power and dependency. Her sitters pose with a provocative dignity that emphasizes individuality over role, embodying a quiet defiance and signaling the rise of a generation less willing to accept inherited hierarchies. The profound trust between photographer and subject emerges vividly in their direct, arresting gazes. The series takes a political turn with a final, unforgettable photograph created during the U.S. invasion of Panama on December 20, 1989: Romy, a domestic worker, stands boldly holding the only weapon available in the house, her expression a mixture of fearlessness and resolve.
The exhibition also highlights the body of work for which Eleta is best known: her long-term engagement with Portobelo, the Caribbean coastal town where she has lived since the 1970s. Here, she documents the daily life, rituals, and cultural heritage of the Congo community, descendants of enslaved Africans. Shot in her signature square black-and-white format, these images are marked by an intensity of mutual regard between photographer and subject. Far from exoticizing or romanticizing, Eleta reveals a spiritually rich world largely unknown to European audiences at the time—one that she portrays with profound respect and advocacy.
Two lesser-known but equally significant series are also featured. Las Campesinas (c. 1976) follows a mother and her two daughters striving to cultivate the barren Pacific-coast valley where they have recently settled. Emberá: Hijos del Río (1998) presents intimate portraits of the nomadic Emberá people—originally from Colombia and displaced during the Spanish conquest—photographed in relation to their environment, especially water, a central element of Emberá culture.
Eleta describes her practice with characteristic clarity:
“The aim of any creative journey is to communicate and to share… My work comes from my lived experience; it is not a sociological report or an exercise in pleasing others. Perhaps it has a sociological quality, but my emotional bond with Portobelo is so strong that all I can say is that my heart sets the rules.”
About the Author
Born in Panama in 1942, Sandra Eleta is one of Central America’s most significant humanist photographers. After studying art history and photography in New York, she developed a practice centered on long-term relationships and deep engagement with the communities she photographs.
In the early 1970s, Eleta settled in Portobelo, a Caribbean town whose Congo heritage became central to her work. Her intimate black-and-white portraits of its inhabitants helped define her visual identity and brought international attention to a culture largely unknown outside Panama.
Between 1975 and 1989, she created La Servidumbre, a pivotal series exploring domestic labor, power, and dignity in Spain and Panama. Her work has been championed by key figures such as Manuel Álvarez Bravo and Jean-Claude Lemagny and has been exhibited widely.
Eleta’s photographs are held in major collections, including the Centre Pompidou, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Biblioteca Nacional de Francia. She continues to support Congo cultural heritage through artistic and community initiatives in Portobelo.
Sandra Eleta: A gaze into the heart of Panama
until 6 December, 2025
Galerie Rouge – Paris – France
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