COIRÓN | BOOK LAUNCH

COIRÓN is the debut monograph by photographer Pie Aerts, published by GOST Books. Created over six years in Chile’s remote Magallanes region, this poetic multiplatform documentary project explores the intimate world of ageing gauchos (known as puesteros) who live and work alone across vast private ranches.

Their lives, often silent, are shaped by distance, physical labour, and long periods of solitude, on land they do not own and with little security once their body begins to fail. This new body of photographic work follows their daily labour and stillness, offering a collective reflection on rural life in contemporary Chile, where meaning emerges through repetition, gesture, and the slow accumulation of time.

Decades of seclusion and exploitation leave these men struggling with profound mental health issues. Barely any social interaction, backbreaking physical labor, a shifting climate, financial insecurity and a lack of retirement provisions, fuel alcoholism and suicide within the community. Yet, despite the hardship, these men face the erosion of their culture and fading identity with dignity, resilience, and pride.

About the exhibition:

To accompany the release of COIRÓN, Aerts will present a 3-day exhibition at Galla Studios in Amsterdam, featuring a selection of large-scale photographs from the project. Created specifically for the launch, the exhibition invites visitors to engage with the work on an immersive scale and experience the landscapes, people, and atmosphere of this Patagonian region.

11–12–13 September 2026, 10:00 AM–10:00 PM: Walk-in Exhibition FREE

About the artists:

Pie Aerts (b. 1985) is a Dutch photographer based in Haarlem. His work examines and questions the intricate and often melancholic relationship between people and place, in an attempt to explain why we seem increasingly disconnected from each other, ourselves, and the environment that sustains us. By offering nuanced and personal perspectives on memory, longing and human resilience, he explores how cultural identity is deeply intertwined with the natural landscapes we inhabit. In doing so, he consistently chooses to prioritize hope over despair.