2nd place
silver star award
Ada Trillo
united states 
title
How Did I Get Here?
I discovered that the majority of the women in the brothels I visited are not from the towns in which they work. Rather, they come from other countries in search of a better life. Many of them arrive with their families but are left behind or abducted. Out of all the brothels I visited, I only met one woman who was originally from the town in which the brothel was located. The majority of the girls have long, complicated histories, ranging from child abuse to single parenthood. However, many of them are open about their past for they believe they have already lost everything, and their only reason to live is drugs.
As I continue to revisit same brothels now for over three years I am sometimes welcomed by some of the same women. It saddens me to see how their bodies had deteriorated due to their drug abuse (primarily heroin) and how the youngest girls, who had only begun to prostitute themselves a year ago, had completely transformed - they are now bitter drug users. It also breaks my heart to learn that several of them were killed and one was missing.
This series and experience has greatly humbled me and allowed me to be grateful for my own life. It has also given me a sense of responsibility to create awareness and to help. I hope that my exhibit it will have an impact on you as well, and give you awareness to want to make a difference.
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entry description
In presenting this series, my goal is to depict and expose the adversity exploited women must overcome in their daily lives and show the other side of prostitution; the side the industry does not want you to see.I discovered that the majority of the women in the brothels I visited are not from the towns in which they work. Rather, they come from other countries in search of a better life. Many of them arrive with their families but are left behind or abducted. Out of all the brothels I visited, I only met one woman who was originally from the town in which the brothel was located. The majority of the girls have long, complicated histories, ranging from child abuse to single parenthood. However, many of them are open about their past for they believe they have already lost everything, and their only reason to live is drugs.
As I continue to revisit same brothels now for over three years I am sometimes welcomed by some of the same women. It saddens me to see how their bodies had deteriorated due to their drug abuse (primarily heroin) and how the youngest girls, who had only begun to prostitute themselves a year ago, had completely transformed - they are now bitter drug users. It also breaks my heart to learn that several of them were killed and one was missing.
This series and experience has greatly humbled me and allowed me to be grateful for my own life. It has also given me a sense of responsibility to create awareness and to help. I hope that my exhibit it will have an impact on you as well, and give you awareness to want to make a difference.
about the photographer
Ada Trillo is a Philadelphia-based photographer, native to the Juarez-El Paso binational metroplex. In her work, she focuses on borders of inclusion and exclusion as they are experienced through people in sex trafficking, climate and violence-related international migration, and long-standing borders of race and class. Through the elements of documentary and fine art photography, Trillo lays bare our common humanity and dignity and brings attention to the impact borders have on exploited and marginalized people by amplifying their voices. Trillo’s work is in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She is the recipient of the Female In Focus 2020 best series award and was recently featured in The Guardian, Vogue, Smithsonian Magazine, and Mother Jones, among other publications. She has also been awarded The Me & Eve Grant with the Center of Photographic Arts in Santa Fe and received First Place in Editorial with the Tokyo International Foto Awards. Trillo has exhibited both nationally and internationally in New York City, Philadelphia, Luxembourg, England, Italy, and Germany. She holds degrees from the Istituto Marangoni in Milan and Drexel University in Philadelphia.back to gallery
