SALT LAKE CITY — Scattered throughout the Salt Lake Valley are various art galleries that claim to capture the essence of Utah’s state identity. Picturesque views of mountains, canyons and other gorgeous terrain stand out as common artistic subjects. However, another current of artistic expression exists among, and almost in spite of, these stereotypes.

The Mestizo Institute of Culture & Arts is a nonprofit organization that aims to promote a multicultural dialogue within Salt Lake City and showcase the city’s diversity of racial, ethnic and cultural perspectives.

Since its formation in 2003, MICA has established a gallery inside the Mestizo Coffeehouse, located just west of the city center and in close proximity to the famed Mexican restaurant Red Iguana. The space offers visitors the opportunity to encounter perspectives not commonly advanced by larger museums or institutions.

Over the past year, the Mestizo Gallery has hosted a number of impressive exhibitions aimed at contributing different views of Utah, slowly piecing together a rich and complex view of the state’s multicultural existence.

Its latest exhibition, “Proof,” is a collection of photographs created by local artist Andrew Fillmore. The images radiate in a neat horizontal row inside the modest gallery space, allowing visitors to contemplate each image on its own terms.

The show aligns with Mestizo’s mission statement of presenting artists and subjects that are often overlooked in the local community, and in this respect, Fillmore’s work registers as both visually powerful and strikingly sentimental.

“Being here in Salt Lake, I participate pretty actively in communities that don't get a lot of representation,” Fillmore said.

For Fillmore, “photography is very much integral to my participation in all parts of my life, (and) I am constantly documenting what I am doing, so the photos used in (this show) are all byproducts of experiences I had in the last few years.”

Often, an artwork’s title helps observers decipher the piece’s subject and register the intention of the artist. All of Fillmore’s photographs are consciously untitled, inviting viewers to further contemplate their meaning.

One such image is a striking view of Salt Lake City’s annual clean air rally on the steps of the Utah Capitol. The image showcases a throng of protesters huddled among the massive white architecture of the civic symbol. In the foreground, a square sign pictures a haunting gas mask with the words “Death by Breath” inscribed below.

For residents of Salt Lake, such icons have become increasingly familiar. The onerous effect of Utah’s inversion has taken shape in visual form.

Images such as these speak to Fillmore’s desire to capture the spirit of the times. “I think among (the) younger generation … there is this conception that activism and the people's ability to influence what is going on in our country and world are things of the past,” Fillmore said. “We are recognizing the things we don't like about our world, and this is one of the ways we are trying to change them.”

Another untitled image depicts two clothed figures embracing each other in a bathtub. The overwhelmingly white space is iterated in the clothing of each figure.

For Fillmore, the image captures a moment of resignation after he and the pictured individuals attempted to work on a project together, and “after several attempts where we felt unable to achieve what we'd intended, we kind of left defeated,” he said.

Images such as this affirm the notion that photography is not merely a medium for capturing picturesque images in the traditional sense; instead, candid moments can be even more insightful.

Perhaps the strongest element of “Proof” is its ability to resonate with the increasingly diverse cultural and generational landscape of Salt Lake City. Fillmore’s work demonstrates that photography isn’t merely useful in documenting beauty, but instead is equally capable of capturing truth in its many forms.

If you go ...

What: "Proof," photographs by Andrew Fillmore

When: Through Sept. 13

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Where: Mestizo Gallery, 631 W. North Temple, Suite 700

Phone: 801-596-0500

Web: mestizoarts.org

Scotti Hill is an art historian based in Salt Lake City. She teaches art history at the University of Utah and Westminster College and works as a freelance curator and writer.

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