Events at union place coffee roasters

Chris Cilento is a retired Army veteran whose combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan profoundly shaped his life and, later, his art. In the years since, photography has become both a vital coping mechanism and a powerful form of expression; a way to transform trauma into something meaningful, something that speaks. In the quiet click of a shutter, he found a language for what could not be spoken—a way to shape darkness into light.

His photographs are born from memory and scar, grief and grace. Each image is an act of translation, capturing not just what is seen, but what is felt: the echo of trauma, the resilience of spirit, the long, slow turning toward peace. Through the lens, he explores the lingering weight of war, using light and shadow to give shape to what cannot be easily named.

Waterfalls have become sacred places in his journey—found only through effort, stillness, and wonder. The search, the climb, the moment of arrival—they are meditations, as vital as the image itself.

Cilento’s work sits at the intersection of personal experience and universal truth. It invites reflection and conversation, creating space for connection, understanding, and the possibility of transformation.
.