THE CRISIS TAPES
Charlie Simokaitis
Curated by Allie Haeusslein

Filter Photo is pleased to present, The Crisis Tapes, a solo exhibition of work by Chicago-based aritst Charlie Simokaitis.

In The Crisis Tapes, the artist is exploring the effects of his daughter’s blindness and its psychic repercussions. When his daughter lost her ability to see over the course of two years, in addition to experiencing the physical disintegration of her vision, she also had a powerful psychological response to her imminent—presumably diminished—reality. Depression and circular episodes of deep mental un-wellness have since pervaded her life, and, reverberantly, that of her family, like a recurring grieving process. Moreover, as this domestic narrative was culminating, a dark political bifurcation was taking place in America, lending a backdrop of gravitas and anxiety. As the artist attempted to recreate this psychological state of mind photographically, the making of the work became a refuge from the life rendered within it. Drawing from an emotionally heightened, thirteen-year timeframe, the disorientation and confusion experienced in the day-to-day are distilled into a private visual journal. The photographs are created from everyday life—a life, for the artist’s daughter, that grows narrower by degrees—and in which the act of seeing itself has been thoroughly considered.

The Crisis Tapes will be published by TIS Books (Brooklyn) in Spring 2024.

This exhibition is supported, in whole or in part, by federal assistance listing number, 21.027 awarded to Filter Photo by the US Treasury through the American Rescue Plan Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. This project is partially supported by a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

About the Artist

Charlie Simokaitis was born and lives in Chicago, IL. He received his MFA from the Hartford Art School, and has a BFA in Photography from the University of Illinois. His photographs have been exhibited in various galleries and exhibitions domestically and abroad. His commissions have taken him to six continents as both a photographer and filmmaker. In 2012, Charlie co-founded Groundfire Pictures, a multimedia production company. His first monograph, The Crisis Tapes, will be published by TIS Books (Brooklyn) in Spring 2024.

Gallery Reception: July 26th | 6 – 9 PM
Exhibition Dates: July 12th – August 24th, 2024
First Friday Reception: August 2nd | 5 – 8 PM

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Tags: Allie Haeusslein, Charlie Simokaitis, Charlie Simokaitis: The Crisis Tapes, Chicago, Filter Photo, West Town