Ian Trout’s first solo exhibition at AF Projects delves into his ongoing exploration of how painting interacts with the omnipresence of graphic symbols in modern society.

Opening: September 10th, 6 to 8pm

Location: 7503 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles

Trout’s exhibition, Private Property, challenges the methods of social control that permeate modern life, particularly within the criminal justice system. The works question how images and symbols of authority, such as police cruisers or cardboard cutouts of officers, are used to maintain compliance and enforce social order. These images become tools in the maintenance of power, often more potent than the real, physical presence of authority itself.

In one of his key pieces, Motorcycle Police (Upside Down), Trout presents two paintings that feature the same enlarged stock image of a police motorcycle, turned upside down to offer a disorienting shift in perspective.

Additionally, Trout’s multi-panel works, The Washington Post, August 19, 2014 / The Punisher, Issue 13, 2019 and LawOfficer.com, July 7, 2016 / The Punisher, Issue 13, 2019, combine opinion pieces from police sources with panels from the 2019 comic book The Punisher. These works critique the use of the Punisher’s iconic skull logo by law enforcement, raising questions about the intersection of pop culture, violence, and authority.

Another piece, Driverless Car, is a found-footage work that revisits a viral video of the San Francisco police pulling over a driverless car, highlighting the clash between technology and law enforcement.

Trout (b. 1983) lives and works in Los Angeles. He earned his MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 2011 and has recently exhibited at there-there in Los Angeles.