“We have been collaborating to make images in the studio and on the street for about six years,” Schoch said of the culmination of the long-term project. “When we discovered a mutual affection for the music of Nina Simone, Zakeya and I began thinking about ways to illustrate songs by the iconic singer, pianist, songwriter and civil rights activist. The words, music and activism of a great singer can reach across the decades to console, enlighten and inspire us amid renewed efforts to bring about racial justice.

We’ve been at it a couple of years, on and off. We thought about the lyrics. We made photographs. We referenced the works of black painters whose creativity should be better known. We mashed them all together. This show is the result.”

About Eric Schoch

Eric Schoch is a photographer not unknown to the Circle City Industrial Complex, FC9’s home building, as he had formerly been affiliated with M10 in the North Studios. A former newspaper reporter and medical school science writer, Schoch is a self-taught photographer and enjoys the freedom of this form of work.

“Reporting and science writing meant adhering to journalist standards. My art photography does not adhere to journalistic standards,” Schoch said.

Schoch also enjoys using Photoshop and other computer-based tools to turn his photographs into reflections of the images in his mind.

“I’m a photographer interested in exploring the interactions of lines, shape, color, and gesture to produce images that I find interesting, whether from the wilderness, the city, or the studio,” Schoch said. “I have formalist tendencies that I sometimes embrace, and sometimes try to resist.”

About the Full Circle Nine Gallery

The Full Circle Nine Gallery operates as an artist cooperative gallery, with each of the member artists and the board dividing gallery duties and artists roles. The artists will work together to help each other advance in skill and practice, as well as to bring success to the gallery. With over two dozen artists occupying a large, three-room space of the more factory-reminiscent portion of the Circle City Industrial Complex, Full Circle Nine offers a wide variety of art forms, media, and approaches.

The gallery has resumed weekend hours, 12-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Full Circle Nine Gallery is located at 1125 Brookside Ave., Indianapolis, IN, 46202, in the South Studios section of the Circle City Industrial Complex. For more information, or for artists interested in joining the Full Circle Nine, please visit www.fullcirclenine.com