Fernando Palma Rodríguez combines his training as an artist and a mechanical engineer to create robotic sculptures that utilise custom software to perform complex narrative choreographies. His works respond to issues facing indigenous communities in Mexico, as they address human and land rights, violence and urgent environmental crises. Based in Milpa Alta, outside of Mexico City, Palma Rodríguez co-founded Calpulli Tecalco, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to preserving the Nahua language and culture. His practice emphasises the importance of indigenous ancestral knowledge as a vital part of contemporary life and a guide for the future.
He has recently exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2023); Gaga, Mexico City (2023); the Venice Biennial (2022); the Gwangju Biennial (2021); Centre Pompidou-Metz (2021); MoMA, New York (2018); the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (2017); FRAC des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou (2016); Parallel Oaxaca (2016); and Nottingham Contemporary (2015).