Earlier this week we added two new artists, Zach Abubeker and Jeremy Bolen, to The Chicago Project. If you don’t know, The Chicago Project is an online gallery that CEG started in 2003 to garner exposure for non-represented, local talent who we feel deserve recognition. Both Zach and Jeremy are alumni of Columbia College Chicago—Jeremy graduated in 2002, while Zach just gradated today along with another recent addition to the project, Matt Austin. Below is a sample of their work.

Zach’s work is an attempt to learn about his father’s native culture, Ethiopia, by examining the Ethiopian community living in the Midwest. Having never been to Ethiopia himself, Zach’s experience of these customs is one that has been distorted by the process of assimilation. He says in his artist statement, “Traditions experience change, the daily coffee ceremony in Ethiopian households is not as frequently practiced in the United States, but the ceremonial object remains to serve as a reminder of a past culture. I mean to explore these differences between the cultures, how certain ideas and customs are kept, but others are not. Exploring these aspects speaks to greater ideas about a global sense of cultural blending.”

Jeremy is also examining the shifting of cultural ideals by photographing abandoned resorts primarily in Upstate New York and Pennsylvania. These forgotten spaces are a reminder of an America where family road trips were still the norm , and summer camp was the place where kids were were taught the tools they would need as adults.

To see more of their work, as well as the work of the many other Chicago Project artist, be sure to visit The Chicago Project homepage.