Trujillo /
Paris Photo Los Angeles
PARAMOUNT PICTURES STUDIOS | MAY 1 - 3, 2015
De Soto Gallery presented a solo exhibition by Joaquin Trujillo at Paris Photo Los Angeles 2015, featuring selections from his projects Mal de Ojo and Flores. Both series offer profoundly autobiographical, mystical, and cathartic reflections rooted in cultural memory and personal experience.
Mal de Ojo, or “the evil eye,” draws from Trujillo’s childhood in rural Mexico, where he was believed to be afflicted by this spiritual curse after contracting scarlet fever. The resulting images explore his lifelong physical and psychological scars through fetishistic portraits and still lifes of folk remedies, personal amulets, and totems. Often displayed as diptychs or triptychs, the works reflect themes of isolation, protection, and self-preservation.
In contrast, Flores is a visual tribute to the women who shaped Trujillo’s life. Growing up between Mexico and the United States, he was surrounded by flowers used both decoratively and ritually. His lush compositions act as symbolic remembrances of family and identity, echoing emotional and cultural legacies passed down through generations.
Joaquin Trujillo (b. 1976, Los Angeles; raised in Zacatecas, Mexico) received his BFA from Art Center College of Design. His work has been exhibited by Rose Gallery in Los Angeles, Steven Kasher Gallery in New York, and New Art Projects in London, and is held in the permanent collections of the San Francisco MoMA and the Amon Carter Museum.
