FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Rigo Jimenez Eastern Projects Gallery 900 N Broadway Suite 1090, Los Angeles, CA 90012 rigo@easternprojectsgallery.com 323.327.8020 Eastern Projects Presents: SOLO SHOW Merrick Morton: Un-Rehearsed Saturday March 30th, 2024 - May 18, 2024 Opening Reception: Saturday March 30th, 2024 5-9pm With the publication of Clique: West Coast Portraits From the Hood [Hat & Beard Press] followers of Merrick Morton’s over four decade career of street photography are reminded that, whatever its location, the real substance of a neighborhood is made of people, of individual and group personalities, of circumstance and shared modes of expression. Morton’s camera has served both as a passport and portal, bridging cultural differences as he has gained the trust and, in a sense, artistic partnership of subjects. This solo exhibition includes documenting the Barrio and Inner City, incarcerated men and women in America’s prisons, locked wards within the walls of a California state psychiatric hospital, portraits from cities, towns, and villages in Mexico and Cuba, and “Life of a Cholo” a special collaboration of poetry, photography and short film with actor/poet Richard Cabral. Richard will be hosting a QnA and- performing spoken word at a later date during the exhibition with short film screening of “Life of a Cholo”. In counterpoint to the street scenes, Unrehearsed includes portraits of actors with whom Morton worked with on film sets. Behind Morton’s lens, the performer dissolves but the subject remains. In the directness with which Morton’s subjects greet the camera, Morton earned the trust of people because he showed up for people who want to be seen –often ambivalent or challenging, usually intense - with people who feel their story is worth recording, if only in a single moment. MERRICK MORTON: Born and raised in Los Angeles, Merrick Morton is a documentary/street photographer, and film set still photographer of more than 90 films including Fight Club, La Bamba, Colors, The Big Lebowski, and the Chicano classic Blood In Blood Out. His photographs of 1980’s Southern California barrios and inner city communities capture an intimate look into a rarely seen side of Los Angeles, and were inspired by his interest in subcultures. His portraits of both incarcerated men and women portray a sense of strength and dignity; the images give viewers the chance to enter spaces they would otherwise never dare to. Other photographic essays of Morton include documenting locked wards at a California State Psychiatric Hospital, and extensive travels to Mexico and Cuba throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He is currently photographing the Cholo culture in Mexico City. Morton’s documentary work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Time Magazine, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Guardian, and Vanity Fair. •What: Opening Reception: Merrick Morton Un-Rehearsed •When: Saturday, March 30th, 2024 5-9pm •Where: Eastern Projects Gallery, 900 N Broadway Suite 1090, Los Angeles, CA 90012 •WHO: PHOTOGRAPHER Merrick Morton Richard Cabral:  Richard Cabral is an actor best known for his work on MAYANS M.C. and AMERICAN CRIME, for which he was nominated for an Emmy. His decade-long career has also included roles in LETHAL WEAPON, THE COUNSELOR, A BETTER LIFE, END OF WATCH and, most recently, on the hit Peacock series TWISTED METAL. In addition to his work in film and television, Cabral has also been a vocal activist for his community. He has traveled throughout the country speaking on issues such as prison reform, drug rehabilitation and immigration. Cabral has maintained a relationship with Homeboy Industries, since he went through the program himself over a decade ago. Most recently, his coffee company, Tepito Coffee, partnered with Homeboy to create a staffing pipeline that creates jobs and a support network for reformed gang members, with the ultimate goal of breaking the cycle of incarceration and recidivism that plagues the communities of Los Angeles.