photo poster project | Seeing My Former Self Through a Child’s Eyes by 창케이 | Issue #273

Held by cizucu in cities around the world, photo poster project is a photography poster exhibition that anyone can join simply by choosing a city and date.
This project, which we call ppp, is more than just a photography exhibition. It is a community where everyone can share their story with confidence, as well as an opportunity to connect with creators from around the world in person.

For this edition, we spoke with 창케이, a creator who participated in photo poster project.

Hello, I’m 창케이. I’m an ordinary office worker, leading what is, for the most part, a rather uneventful everyday life.
My father also loved photography, and my childhood memories are filled with the film photographs he took of me. Perhaps influenced by him, I naturally began using a film camera and making photographs while I was in high school.

Later, my desire to “create photographs that were uniquely my own” naturally led me to travel.
It felt like a shame to leave the photographs I had gradually accumulated sitting on my computer, so I began expanding my practice in various ways, including solo exhibitions and collaborations with apparel brands.

Over the years, I have made an enormous number of photographs while traveling.
They do not necessarily depict momentous events or dramatic scenes. I think I simply felt a strong desire to give them another life and to have others see them.

In the past, I was able to seek out opportunities to exhibit and share my work through a wider range of channels. But before I knew it, I had become an office worker with a routine and a parent with a family, and I felt those opportunities gradually drifting further away from me.

Then, by chance, I discovered ppp on social media.
The project offered support for exhibiting work—something that is not easy to undertake alone—while giving me the chance to present my photographs and connect naturally with people who shared similar interests. I found that immensely appealing.

Amid an everyday life that can sometimes feel monotonous and the whirlwind of raising a child, the experience felt like meeting a former version of myself—one who had gradually begun to fade—for the first time in a long while.
This time, I participated with my son, carrying the small hope that it would become a treasured memory for him as well.

Before arriving at the exhibition space, however, I was a little concerned that bringing a child might inconvenience the other participants.

In reality, however, my concerns proved unfounded: everyone taking part welcomed my son and me with genuine warmth. I could also sense how thoughtfully attentive they were toward us, for which I was deeply grateful.
At the same time, I do regret that caring for my child meant I was unable to speak at greater length with more people.

Although they may appear insignificant at first glance, the times I have spent experimenting and taking on challenges remain an invaluable part of my life.
Each of those small challenges accumulated over time and shaped who I am today. I believe they also ultimately led to this opportunity to participate in the exhibition.

After a period filled with challenges, my life is now somewhat more settled. Yet whenever I look at this photograph, I remember the person I once was—someone who saw everything in the world with fresh eyes.
Like the curiosity-filled gaze of an infant, I hope that my child, and indeed everyone, can retain that sense of innocence as they grow older: continuing to see the world from new perspectives and venturing out to explore a wider world.

It was with these thoughts in mind that I selected this photograph.

I thought it would be wonderful to have a way of keeping the photographs encountered at the exhibition close even after the show had ended.
Beyond being able to take home a poster of my own work, I felt that having a memorable photograph by another artist as a postcard or poster would allow the resonance of the exhibition to remain part of everyday life.

The posters and photographs accumulated through repeated participation could also become precious records, recalling the encounters and emotions of each occasion. I felt that opportunities to revisit and appreciate those works would make the experience of continuing to participate in ppp even more rewarding.

Encounter your own photograph in an exhibition space rather than through a screen.
I also recommend talking about the work with people who are drawn to similar things.

I do not think the significant experiences in our lives were always significant from the outset. I believe that profound experiences begin with the smallest things—moments that may initially seem inconsequential.