2. Artist Statement
With this gallery, I hoped to capture the beauty inherent in the Queen City, the city of
Charlotte, North Carolina. I use this gallery to make my personal memories of the Queen
more tangible. Having lived half my life in New York before moving to the small town of
Waxhaw, North Carolina, and then attending college in another small town, Boone, North
Carolina, I feel as if I've lived a splintered life; a life that wavers between a yearning for urban
growth and exploration and another that craves rural simplicity. Now, and throughout the
entirety of my university experience, the beautiful and serene mountains of Boone has been
where I lain my head. It is for this reason that I think that lately, as if part of my circadian
clockwork, my mind has taken to wandering about like a city boy, trapped in the colors, the
angles and the architecture of a city that I only take the time to see on lonely summer days.
Nkem Obi-Melekwe
8. All original photos taken and edited by Nkem Obi-Melekwe
Nkem is a music producer,
photographer, and senior undergraduate
student pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science
in Psychology. Born in New York,
hailing from Waxhaw, NC, and
currently living in Boone, NC, he spent
the summer before his junior year of
college teaching himself to take well-
composed and high-quality pictures. His
skill and ambition for the craft has only
amplified since. Nkem’s main interests
are in staying up-to-date on world news
and current events, taking & editing
photographs, making music, engaging in
scientific research, and meeting with
new people.
