By: María Laura Hernández de Agüero
One of the photos that occupies a central place in the exhibition "A Collection Is a Desire," curated by Sebastián Montalvo at the Palace of Arts in Miraflores, is "Ashamed Man" from the "Mummies" series, which was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum. It is a reflection on how our bodies become the source of meaning.
For over 40 years, Lorry Salcedo, one of Peru's most internationally renowned photographers, has forged an unmistakable aesthetic. His photographs possess a breathtaking cinematic beauty, laden with symbolism and unabashedly impactful.
Born on the northern coast of Peru, in the province of Pacasmayo, Salcedo grew up surrounded by the traces of the Moche and Chimú cultures. His childhood was marked by his fascination with archaeological remains and pre-Hispanic ceramics, elements that would later become the foundation of his work. His photography is an X-ray of his own cultural psyche, an attempt to understand the world through the eyes of his ancestors.
Salcedo's images, which are found in numerous collections such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the National Afro-American Museum & Culture, are a reflection of the complexity and mystery of human psychology, a journey to the very essence of what it means to be Peruvian. As the American art curator Mitchell Snow says, "Lorry Salcedo's narratives unfold into epic sagas: the rise and fall of nations, the ebb and flow of peoples across the face of our planet, the clash of cultures, the continuous discovery of what it means to be human."
Location: Miraflores Palace of Arts (PLAM)
Av. Larco 450 Miraflores, Lima.
The exhibition will remain until April 26, 2026.