The inventive and highly memorable photographs of artist Estelle Choe are as compositionally pleasing as they are unexpected. Using digital manipulation (usually via PhotoShop) to create each finished product, Choe considers herself to be a conceptual image builder, arranging recognizable elements uniquely in such a way as to clearly depict notions that linger in the human consciousness.

 

One aspect that makes Choe’s work stand out is the complexity of the images, each with multiple layers and at least three to four different photographs embedded. Alongside the visual layering is a layering of meaning, whereby current cultural, social, and political themes are addressed and the viewer is asked to consider significances much deeper than what lies on the surface. Juxtaposed with the social commentary of the art is a deep humor and a sparkling joy the artist clearly finds in both the visual world of everyday objects and the world of intangible symbolism meant to trigger profound contemplation.

 

Estelle Choe currently lives and works in New York.