CJ Karch, Creative Director, Photographer and Maker…
Of Real, Digital, and Imaginary things.
CJ Karch is a Salem-based photographer, maker, and creative director whose work begins with an idea and takes whatever shape it needs. Over the past fifteen-plus years, that practice has expanded from photography into constructed objects, puppets, miniature environments, digital imagery, web design, product development, and the occasional invented institution.
His projects include The Circus Em, an original narrative world built through puppetry, sets, photography, and written lore; Strangely Normal, a Salem-based satirical consumer brand built around fictional organizations and their merchandise; and independent photographic work including The Aviary, a series of hand-built sculptural creatures photographed as portraits.
CJ lives and works in Salem, Massachusetts. He has worked professionally in photography since 2008, with a practice spanning fine-art, commercial, and constructed imagery. His work has been exhibited regionally and internationally, including the 2024 iNstantes International Photography Festival in Avintes, Portugal.
The aim of CJ’s work is to make original ideas tangible while leaving room for mystery, wonder, and imagination. The viewer is invited into elaborate worlds: there is plenty there to explore, and even more to discover.
Sweetie
Contemplation II
Watcher
Glorious Victory
Poppies
Epic Battles
Curious
Monty
Quickly
The Mystic
The Tulip
