Statement from the curator, David Acosta:

The current exhibition I Look at the World takes its title from a poem by Langston Hughes and displays the work of two Philadelphia based photographers: Ada Trillo and the ceramicist Isaac Scott.  Previously unaware of each other’s work, these two photographers; artists, witnesses, and participants are for the first time brought together in this exhibition that documents and captures the mass migration of people from Central America to the US border (Ada Trillo) and the Black Lives Matter protests in Philadelphia (Isaac Scott).  These photographs document two events which occurred during the challenges of 2020 amidst the outbreak of COVID 19 as a global pandemic: the “caravan” of Central American migrants travelling through Mexico as well as the national protests following the murder of George Floyd.

Trillo, a Latina born on the Mexican side of the US border, and Scott, a Midwestern African American, and at the time an art student in Philadelphia, created these works reflecting a similar preoccupation and aesthetic through the common language of the photographic lens.  This despite, or perhaps because, their personal and specific identities vested them in the events they documented. 

This exhibition explores the complex role of the artist/photographer as both impartial observer, witness and participant, and the complexity, struggle, and acceptance of those complex roles at the intersection of art and subjectivity.

I Look at the World will be on view in Gallery 1 at Da Vinci Art Alliance beginning July 27th, and will be available as a video walkthrough shortly after. Join us for the opening reception of the exhibit on July 28th, from 4-7pm. 

About the Artists:

Ada Trillo is a Philadelphia-based photographer, native to the Juarez-El Paso binational metroplex. In her work, she focuses on borders of inclusion and exclusion as they are experienced through people in forced prostitution; climate and violence-related international migration; and long-standing borders of race and class. Through the elements of documentary and fine art photography, Trillo lays bare our common humanity and dignity and brings attention to the impact borders have on exploited and marginalized people by amplifying their voices. Trillo’s work is in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She is the recipient of the Female In Focus 2020 best series award, and was recently featured in The Guardian, Vogue, Smithsonian Magazine, and Mother Jones, among other publications. She has also been awarded The Me & Eve Grant with the Center of Photographic Arts in Santa Fe and received First Place in Editorial with the Tokyo International Foto Awards. Trillo has exhibited both nationally and internationally in NYC, Philadelphia, Luxembourg, England, Italy, and Germany. She holds degrees from the Istituto Marangoni in Milan and Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Isaac Scott is a ceramic artist and photographer from Madison, WI who is currently living in Philadelphia, PA. Isaac received his MFA in Ceramic Art at Tyler School of Art and Architecture in 2021. His ceramic work has been exhibited around the country including Design Miami Podium in 2020 and at the 20219 National Conference for Education in the Ceramic Arts in Minneapolis, MN. Isaac’s photographs of the 2020 Uprising in Philadelphia were featured in the June 22ndth, 2020 issue of the New Yorker. In August of 2020 Isaac completed his first mural alongside collaborators Gerald A. Brown and Roberto Lugo. The Stay Golden mural is located at 33rd and W Diamond St. in Philadelphia, PA. His solo exhibition When The Cracks Deepen is currently on display at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens.

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