Moving Back, Moving On
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
There are moments in my life that feel like slow-moving scenes from a movie – everything about the room feels heavier, smells stronger, and I forget how long I’ve been holding my breath, waiting to pull myself out. But then my lungs expand, the world around me reappears, and I exhale with gratitude. Everything comes back into focus – and the past softens.
Many of my photographs are unplanned, discovered in mundane, unassuming places – the parking lot of my childhood elementary school or the front window of a coffee shop. I try to find myself in these moments, suspending my place behind the camera and leaning into them. In some of my recent work, I intervene by constructing spaces and exploring the effects of personal trauma and memory – how displacement and notions of coming home have played a pivotal role in my life.
I am driven by an unshakable desire to catch these quiet affirmations; to connect with others through the detached yet incredibly intimate object of a photograph; to find a proper place for the past and the now.
“Born and raised in North Carolina; the daughter of immigrant parents; past mistress of Chicago; constant companion to silver linings, the overlooked, and the unnoticed; cheeky, coy, and careful; a storyteller at your whim. I give people the benefit of a doubt; believe we can each tell our own tales and imagine ten thousand more; and I turn to photography, always searching for the satisfying, held-between-breaths, impulsive balance of the beautiful and the unscripted.”
– Christine
Christine R. Choi grew up in the Triangle, lived in Chicago for several years, and returned to lead a double life in academic publishing and photography. Visit her website for more information: www.christinerchoi.com.
City Gallery 