Misael Rojas & Gabriel Ebensperger: Ourselves

Ourselves is a visual dialogue between two friends who met twenty years ago, bonding over their shared photography project. Gabriel and Misael explore their identities through a series of hand-drawn portraits created during video-call sessions.

The exhibition is rooted on the idea that we understand ourselves partly through the eyes of another. Both artists come from Chile but nowadays live in different cultural contexts, one in their hometown of Viña del Mar and the other in Helsinki. Despite the distance, they continue to share similar emotions and experiences, shaped and refracted by their current environments. Through conversations about growing up queer, navigating identity, and holding onto cultural roots, they have created self-portraits and ultimately portraits of each other, transforming these exchanges into visual form. This shared process of reflection and representation reveals aspects of the self that often stay hidden.

During their video-call sessions, each artist reflects both on themselves and on the other, using traditional graphic tools and techniques that invite introspection, patience, and the ability to stay present enough to remain nonjudgmental about their drawings. Before starting, they agreed on one rule: whatever is said and drawn stays. The exhibition features Misael and Gabriel’s hand-drawn portraits and a selection of dialogues from 2025. 

Misael Rojas is a Chilean-born visual creative and artist based in Helsinki. He holds a BA in Art History and an MA in New Media Design and Production. Nowadays, he works as a designer focusing on digital and motion design at one of Finland’s largest communication agencies. His artwork is inspired by the materiality of objects, human interaction, identity, and memory. Some of his work has been presented in public spaces in Espoo and Helsinki, including Aalto University, Night of the Arts Helsinki, and the University of Helsinki metro station.

Gabriel Ebensperger is a Chilean visual artist and writer. Alongside his personal creative projects, he works in commercial illustration and graphic design. He is the author of the autobiographical graphic novel Gay Gigante (2016, Catalonia Chile, Tusquets Mexico), which was awarded the IBbY Chile Colibri Medal Award. He has also written El libro de la tristeza (2018, Quinto Piso Chile, Mexico, and Spain), and Gay Giant (2022, Street Noise BooksUSA).

Gabriel and Misael grew up in the same coastal region in Chile and studied at the same university in Viña del Mar. After Misael moved to Finland, Gabriel’s visit to Helsinki in 2018 and the isolation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic strengthened their friendship, kickstarting the idea of a collaborative artistic project. In 2025, they decided to stop waiting for the perfect idea and start working together immediately, using pen, paper, everyday topics, and personal challenges. Ourselves is their first collaborative work.

15.1.–22.2.2026 (closed 8.2.)
Misael Rojas & Gabriel Ebensperger: Ourselves
Luonnos, Uudenmaankatu 13, Helsinki
Wed-Fri 12–17, Sat-Sun 12–16, free admission

Welcome to celebrate the opening of the exhibition Wed, January 14, from 5 to 7 pm at Luonnos gallery!