Having been selected by the City of San Diego, Commission for Arts and
Culture as the city's 2023/2024 Photography Fellow, artist John Raymond Mireles has opened
an array of uniquely styled photography exhibitions at eleven locations across San Diego.
Entitled The New Colossus, this expansive exhibition celebrates San Diego's diverse immigrant
communities through a series of novel visual displays open to the public.
Supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Mireles installed three
separate exhibitions of photography at San Diego’s civic center, five full scale installations at
public libraries and three individual artworks also at public libraries. For the multi-image
installations, Mireles gave each their own theme and visual approach. Instead of one exhibition
spread out across eleven locations, each photographic installation stands on its own
conceptually and visually - as though each was executed by a different artist.
For one such installation, entitled
The Golden Age and located at the College/Rolando library,
Mireles printed and framed portraits of immigrants in the style of vintage 19th century
photographs and installed them against a Victorian-patterned backdrop. By presenting
contemporary portraits in a historical context, the installation encourages viewers to consider
current immigration in the same, more sympathetic light as the often romanticized past.
In Their Own Words, an installation of 18, 30x40 inch printed portraits located at the Rancho
Peñasquitos library, includes the subject’s telling of their immigration story in printed form. By
affixing to the image paper strips with the subject’s own narrative, Mireles adds voice to the
visual. The subject and their story become indelibly bound, just as is in real life.
Inspired by the Red Room located in the East Wing of the White House, Mireles created a
visually rich, interactive installation entitled
Duality. This work, installed at the San Ysidro library
(situated just a few blocks from the US/Mexico border), takes viewers on an exploration of the
dual nature of the immigrant experience; they have one foot in the culture of their country of
origin and another in their new life in America. The three mounted artworks installed on this
movable wall can be rotated by the viewer. On one side is a portrait of an individual dressed as
they appear as assimilated Americans, on the other they appear as they would in their home
country. Visually striking, this exhibition explores the boundaries of how contemporary
photography can physically and conceptually engage with viewers.
The New Colossus series of exhibitions is currently on display at the locations listed below until
October 31, 2024.
Colonnade I, 2024 - from The New Colossus exhibition commissioned by the City of San Diego © John Raymond Mireles
By engaging with viewers through public installations and interactive experiences, Mireles
challenges traditional conventions for exhibiting photography. In 2021, this socially and
environmentally engaged artist invited visitors to physically destroy his photographs as part of
an exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art. He has installed portraits from his
Neighbors
series in multiple locations including New York City - where in 2018 he placed his photos along
¼ mile of fencing in the Lower East Side. Mireles’ work has been exhibited at the Anchorage
Museum and been the subject of a TED talk delivered by the artist at Valparaiso University.
www.jraymondm.com
About the Fellowship
Exposure is San Diego’s first-ever municipal photo fellowship program designed to provide a
platform for artists to explore the civic and social issues facing the city through photography.
The Commission for Arts and Culture pairs a photo fellow with a City department or program
to bring creative engagement, participatory strategies, and artistic lens-based approaches to
support city priorities. During the term, the appointed photo fellow participates in research and
engages with relevant stakeholders and advisors to develop a temporary project in
collaboration with city staff. The fellowship culminates with a selection of artworks for inclusion
into the city’s Civic Art Collection.
