Jon Stojan
Image credit: El Niño Pescado
Walking into The El Niño Pescado exhibit within Highland Park’s The Pop Hop almost feels like floating under water. With Alexander Justin Gonzales’ surreal yet ethereal oil paintings of various mermaids, it’s only right that the show opened on International Mermaid Day. As he said when he addressed a packed yet cozy room with art-goers of all kinds holding martinis and margaritas on opening night with an impeccable vibe;
“El Niño Pescado is for the dreamers, the swimmers, the crazies, the survivors, the girls, the gays, the bis, the straights, the fighters and for anyone who believed in underwater fantasy. Mermaids don’t discriminate and share light and love to all, as all are welcome.”
The artist and filmmaker’s creations are on view through April 13th, and are heavily inspired by trauma, as are his indie films Guadalajara and Children of the Cloth. He has also earned his artistic trauma from the fashion industry when he had a major hand in commercializing paint on textiles for a celebrated street wear brand from 2020-2022, so it was only natural to bring his art to textiles of his own. Accompanying his oil paintings viewers will notice a mermaid sculpture and duvet set suspended above, along with more El Niño Pescado inspired merchandise available for purchase both at the exhibit and online.
As the wildfires raged over Los Angeles only months before the opening, like so many of us he felt called to do more, but what could he do? He soon recognized the disproportionate response to the LA Latino community’s needs after the fires and channeled his anger into action by putting his money where his mouth is; deciding to commit a percentage of proceeds to directly support displaced Latino families through Latino Wildfire Aid.
Even as independent an artist as Gonzales is, he knows sometimes it takes a village to fully realize a vision. That’s why he tapped up-and-coming designer Karlo Jacobs (Fantasmas) and world renowned art installer Dmitri Stroganov for the task. Complete with two mermaid tails, custom gold breast plate and flowing fabric to top off the movement of the piece.
On top of this benchmark of a first solo art exhibition, Gonzales’ spotlight is about to get bigger and couldn’t be more timely with his upcoming directorial debut, Mean Boys, set to have it’s world premiere at the LA Film Festival in May. When you ask Justin what it’s about, he replies very matter-of-factly; “Think of it as an evolved coming-of-age bitchfest for those Millennials who loved Mean Girls, Heathers and Jawbreaker.” When you ask him about his journey so far breaking into the film industry over the past 12 years, he doesn’t pretend the journey’s been smooth.
“Between the rampant nepotism and exceptional gatekeeping, Hollywood doesn’t hand out invitations- especially when you can’t pay to play,” he said. “So, you either wait around—or you make your own rules.” That mindset fuels the fire of Gonzales’ creative identity. A modern day Orson Welles in his own right, he has routinely taken his films on the road with screenings in major cities all over the world.
His artistic influences read like a playbill of Hollywood’s most chaotic and iconic with figures such as John Waters, Gus Van Sant, Pedro Almodovar, Angelyne, Divine, Lindsay Lohan, Anna Nicole Smith, and Brittany Murphy. Looking ahead, Gonzales plans to expand his online store, launch more exhibitions, and continue developing original films under his production company COA Pictures.
With El Niño Pescado, he hopes to provide a fluid example that radical self acceptance through creative expression isn’t just iconic; it’s also for everyone.