Amor Prohibido,
2023
Created with Brian Fontana and stylist Javier Barrera, Amor Prohibido considers desire, memory, and self-reflection within a restrained visual vocabulary. Mesa focuses on the emotional tone of the scene rather than constructing explicit narrative meaning. The figure’s posture and gaze carry a mixture of inwardness and quiet intensity, allowing the work to hold complexity without overstatement. The composition is attentive to surfaces and small details, where emotion appears indirectly. The photograph invites reflection on the interior states that shape identity and self-understanding. Through this subtle approach, Amor Prohibido becomes a study of feeling that moves beneath the surface.
VAT included / excl. shipping.
Artwork is printed edge-to-edge. No white borders or framing are included.
David Mesa (b. 1995, Pereira, Colombia) is a New York/ Berlin–based photographer whose practice moves between photo-documentary and fashion. His interest in image-making began at 14, when he inherited his father’s camera and became absorbed in the complexity of composition, light, and posture. Over time, he developed a distinct visual language that brings vulnerability and sensuality into dialogue with both staged and everyday contexts.
Mesa’s work explores intimacy, desire, and identity, often through the male body and queer narratives. His photographs trace the intersections of migration, memory, and belonging — reflecting on how lived experience shapes both personal and collective histories. Through his lens, the ordinary becomes charged with tenderness and complexity; each image a gesture toward connection.
