Coto de Caza (Hunting Reserve) by artist Juan Yactayo Sono is an intimate look into illegal cruising spots in Lima, Peru. Cruising is a term used to describe the activity of searching for anonymous, often queer, public sex. Through 61 photographs, captured expeditiously on a cellphone, documentation of internet conversations in English, and writing by the artist in Spanish, the viewer is immersed into a world of “pleasure, darkness, fear, tension and loneliness.” A sensitive glimpse through the eyes of a young man exploring his sexuality, Yactayo Sono presents a nuanced picture of both freedom and marginalization. This project won the Publications Fund of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID in Spanish) in 2017, the year it was published. Coto de Caza includes a handmade serigraphed box containing 61 images in five folded blocks, a 52 page booklet of writing, and a miniature booklet of internet conversations. This artist book is primarily in Spanish.
Coto de Caza is published by Peruvian publisher Pequeño Pato Salvaje Editorial in 2018. Founded in Lima in 2015, Pequeño Pato Salvaje Editorial produces digital content and audiovisual installations and publishes books which allow them to share honest and emotional stories from artists from all over the world with sensitivity and curiosity. Juan Yactayo Sono is an artist based in Lima, Peru working in photography and film whose work addresses masculinity, queer identity, and sexuality.