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This Place Is A Prison
June 13th thru July 4th
Opening reception Friday June 13th,
6:00PM - 10:00PM
Curated by
Monica HW Choy
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Monica HW Choy's statement on "This Place Is A Prison":
I have been a gallery curator for two years now, showing mostly in Portland and Seattle. Though I tend to gravitate towards low-brow/pop surrealism painting, I am trying something different with this next show by curating a different medium, photography.
I have always been fascinated by a photographer’s ability to capture amazing images while considering so many different variables. Composition, lighting, subject, and mood are often so unpredictable – not to mention having to manage all the lenses, equipment, and settings involved. It amazes me then, when someone my age can capture fragments of life in a way that really makes me want to pause and wonder at it. Anyone can pick up a camera and take a snapshot, but few can capture a moment in a way that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also invites you to listen to the story behind it.
I selected these three photographers because of their similarity, not in style, but in subject matter. All three come from urban areas (San Francisco and Seattle) and much of their work portrays the lifestyle and environment surrounding young adults living in big cities. City life is often glamorized by movies, tv shows, and "small town" folk, but the concrete jungle can be a cold place. I have chosen to focus these photographers on the sometimes-stifling aspects of city life in "This Place is a Prison."
"This Place is a Prison," step's into everyday places and everyday beauty. Texture's and environments from actual urban settings. Explore a day into one girl's life. Turning life into fantasy and dreams into reality. Leave's you wondering... is this place really a prison or a playground.
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Archival print on wood
12" x 24" Diptych
$180.00
not available
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The end goal is to show you how I see things. Even before I crashed my bike it was a practice of mine to see things as they really were, without the connections and associations my survival-oriented lizard brain were trying to heap onto it. Now, post-accident, those connections have been jarred loose somewhat. These images, some taken before the crash, some taken after, show exactly how I attempt this disassociation: by actually looking at what I'm looking at. I take pictures of the things that scream at us, WAKE UP MAN, I'M AWESOME.
These are the things that spoke to me in my urban life. These are the moments of beauty and peace I've found in a place that is essentially dirty, dangerous, and restless. These are the things I saw that pulled me into the moment and got me to take a deep breath. Like, it's going to be okay. Look at how pretty the world you're a part of is! Even when it's not really all the pretty. Especially then!
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