Paulina Avila

The series “La Memoria de las Paredes” brings the archival material of my grandfather, Rafael Esqueda, into dialogue with my own photographic work. Fragments of family stories across generations are bridged together by the walls of my family’s home. Through the layering of images, the work merges past, present, and future, compressing generational time while stitching together a variety of materialities and opacities. The project is guided by traces left behind, by the untold stories hidden in the walls, specifically those of women, and by the culture of Mexico, the place where this history unfolds.  

Paulina Avila is a lens-based artist born and raised in Mexico City. Avila currently resides and works in New York. Her work mostly consists of portraiture as well as experimental and narrative films.