Focusing on his hometown of Galesburg, Illinois, Chris Verene has photographed the lives of his friends and family through a factual, yet sympathetic, lens for 30 years. Describing himself as a “documentary artist,” he gives his works narrative titles that create a specific context and often allude to events beyond the frame. He seeks to relate “the stories from their source…out to the world at large,” he said. Verene also works under the pseudonym Cheri Nevers, a performative alter ego who takes glamorous photographs of ordinary women as part of a “Self-Esteem Salon.” Verene created the persona, which involves his dressing in drag, with the intention of making women “look fantastic” and feel beautiful and empowered.