BACK STORY

Michael and I met Chilly-O when we got our building in Castleberry. Chilly-O was out front selling his ATLiens T's out of the back of his truck. Just before, I had been living in Jamaica and had painted shirts on the road to sell, so I appreciated his way. Michael is into bikes, so they immediatly connected on that level. That was in 1996. As he told someone during a dinner party, 'Carol and Mike' are real friends. Our paths may seem different; but, we are part of the same creative people who support fellow artists bridging the gaps in the creative scene and lift each other up. When we opened Garage Projects, it was natural to invite him to put together a show. He brought in Dax, Freako, Olive. It was huge.

Chilly-O’s personal work involves street photography (influenced by Japanese street photographers Daido Moriyama, Eikoh Hosoe, and Araki) and studio work with models. The work is dedicated and authentic, so we invited him for a solo project. Quietly, I sent his pictures to Arnika Dawkins who has generously culled through his archives for this presentation. I designed the show to have his infamous truck parked inside with him selling his photographs out of the back with the images projected on the media wall (designed by architect Nicholas Storck).