LONG ISLAND CITY — A new photography exhibit that opens in Queens this week is challenging stereotypes about immigration, taking aim at the controversial comments presidential candidate Donald Trump made earlier this year.
Photographer Ricardo Aca, a Mexican immigrant himself and an employee at a restaurant in one of Trump's hotels, made headlines after speaking out against the Republican hopeful's comments in a video that went viral this summer.
He's continuing his mission to dispel misconceptions about immigrants in a new exhibit that opens Thursday at LaGuardia Community College, which will feature his photographs of immigrants holding signs with statements like "Not a Criminal" and "Not a Rapist."
The photos are a response to Trump's claims during his presidential campaign launch speech in June, where he called Mexican immigrants "rapists," and claimed they bring drugs and crime into the country.
"It makes me upset," Aca said of Trump's politics. "We are the backbone of this country. This country is built of immigrants."
Aca, 24, is undocumented himself, originally from Mexico. He grew up in Brooklyn and now lives in Ridgewood, and graduated from LaGuardia Community College three years ago with an associate's degree in commercial photography.
He now works in the school's photography lab, thanks to being part of a federal program that allows him to work legally.
His other job is at a restaurant located inside Trump's SoHo hotel, which he discussed in a video by New Left Media this summer where he responded to the politician's immigration statements. The video has gained more than 400,000 views on YouTube.
Aca says he's using photography to tell the stories of immigrants like himself.
Other works in his exhibit will include photographs he took of immigrants and first-generation immigrants at Harvard University holding signs with words like "American" and "Dreamer."
The pictures will be accompanied by information about the students, including their reactions to Trump's comments, and how immigration has affected their lives, Aca said.
"It's important to share stories," he said. "Video and photography are a very powerful tool to do that."
"Not A..." will open Thursday at LaGuardia Community College's Gallery of Photographic Arts in the West Gallery, located in the B-building on the third floor of 30-20 Thomson Ave. The opening will run from 6 to 8 p.m., and the exhibit will remain on view through Dec. 31.
