Artist Statement
My images, taken in 35mm film, are rooted in “documentary photography,” inspired by literary and philosophical frameworks, including magical realism and deconstructivism that allow me to investigate ‘truth’, identity, and certainty through fragmentation. Using experimental methods of photography and printing, I am able to observe and represent different versions of ‘reality’. My process is a physical manifestation of concepts, translated through the continuous layering of images.
My interest in transparencies, double exposures, reflections, and layering allows me to investigate the sentimentality of connectivity shared between humans. My photographs and the alternative imagery that is created through experimental processes exist as archival vessels, allowing me to create parallels between my identity and my environment.
Bio:
Christine Cortes (she/they) is a first generation Colombian-American artist based in Miami, FL. As a photo-based artist, they are interested in exploring alternative and non-traditional processes of image-making, image-printing, book-making, print-making, and installing images.
Currently, they are featured in the group exhibition “How We Remember” at The Frost Museum of Art - FIU, curated by Amy Galpin. In 2021, they participated in the Summer Open program at Bakehouse Art Complex, a competitive 12-week residency that provides Miami-based artists with free workspace to support their practices and engage with the organization’s community of cultural producers. Their work was included in the publication “HOUSEFIRE- WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?” (Curated by Nick Drain and published by Cumulus Photo, 2020) and in the self-published photobook “Meditations In The Mundane.”They participated in a group photography exhibition, “OPAQUE,” curated by artist Reginald O’Neal at Void Projects Miami (2020) where they are an associate artist and head of the Void Photo Collective. Currently, Christine is an associate artist at Bakehouse Art Complex. They have a BFA in Photography with a minor in Art History from New World School of the Arts.