© Christopher Churchill
© Christopher Churchill
Christopher Churchill says his series of photographs, American Faith, is "an exploration
into the inherent human need to be connected to something greater. It documents faith as a
universal part of the human experience and the various ways this is manifested throughout the
United States."
American Faith is featured in the Atelier Gallery at the Griffin Museum January 5 through
March 1. An opening reception is January 12, 7-8:30 p.m.
Churchill began the project in 2004, at the height of the political and cultural tension in a post
September 11 America.
"The topic of religion was fueling intolerance, bigotry, nationalism, and negatively influencing
our societies perspective of itself," Churchill says. "Personal faith had been tied to religion in
a way that inverted the hierarchy of the two. It's meaning was redefined to describe radical
religious actions and righteousness rather then the universal commonality it brings to humanity."
He said while these initial observations were the impetus to begin the project, the reasons for
continuing the work evolved.
Churchill decided to travel through every state in the country, photographing strangers and
collecting stories of their experiences in being a part of something greater.
"Always in a visceral, fluid way, never planning where to go, I would place my own faith in a
certain random process," he says. "I would abandon efforts of trying and instead allow events to
inform each other. I began to collect physical evidence in images and recordings of there being a
larger sequence of events in the world; testing my own faith in this process everyday. One event
would influence another and I would slowly work my way into an almost predestined path of mariachi
bands and hudderite colonies."
He adds, "As this project ends and its relentless beckoning fades, I am humbled to be the
ambassador of these stories and images."
Churchill is from Amesbury, MA. His works are held in private and public collections including The
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Addison Gallery of American Art, Boston Public Library, Fidelity
Investments, The Portland Museum of Art, The Palm Springs Art Museum and Brown University. His
editorial clients include Newsweek, Inc., The Guardian, National Geographic Adventure, Real Simple,
Kiplinger's, Time inc., and The New York Times Magazine. His commercial clients include MTV, The
Federal Reserve Bank, and The Massachusetts General Cancer Center.
Prior to the public reception, at 6:15 p.m., Susan Berger presents a talk for museum members on her
Griffin Gallery exhibit Martin Luther King Boulevard.
The Griffin Museum of Photography is open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 am - 5 pm; Friday 11 am - 4
pm; and Saturday and Sunday, noon - 4 pm. The Museum is closed on Monday. Admission is $7 for
adults; $3 for seniors. Members and children under 12 are admitted free. Admission is free to all
every Thursday. For more information, call 781-729-1158.
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