Chad Alexander is an artist from Northern Ireland who works on long-term photographic projects and creative commissions. His practice explores the connections between people and their environments, exploring the tensions and harmonies between place and identity. Drawing on his lived experience, Alexander explores the entanglement of people, history, and place, revealing how the legacy of conflict continues to permeate everyday life in subtle but persistent ways.

Inquiry is an ongoing body of work that documents daily life within Alexander’s community in Belfast. It examines how violence and the legacy of war shape certain masculine identities, and the ways in which unresolved histories of violence remain embedded in the fabric of society. Whilst day-to-day life in Belfast is largely calm and ordinary, a sense of uneasiness shimmers just under the surface of Alexander’s photographs. Flowers, lawns and domestic details share the frame with shattered glass, bonfires and bullet holes. The postures and facial expressions of Alexander’s subjects allude to countless daily calculations around trust, safety and honour. These images reveal the scars, both literal and psychological, from generations of sectarian violence.

The project stems from an incident in 2020, when members of a paramilitary group fired gunshots into the home of one of Alexander’s family members. Framed as a warning, reportedly linked to alleged anti-social behaviour involving a young male relative, the attack reflects the conditions in which past trauma is not only remembered, but continually reactivated.