Pascack Valley photography teacher, Christine Back takes a blast to the past with her photography project “PV Revisited.”

The project features pictures of various PV alumni who took Back’s photography class back when they were students. The photos aim to catch a more updated feel, to not just the alumni, but also the school. Back describes it as “A real growth experience.”

Ray & Evelyn, 2004 & 2023

Back wanted to create a project based on pure impulse to capture the memories of her students. She began the project in the early 2000s and now she is trying to recapture these students through a modernized lens.  

Before COVID-19 shut the whole operation down, in 2018, Back managed to get ten shots of her former students. The pandemic, however, didn’t stop her drive to execute her vision. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Back applied for grants, and getting these grants motivated her to jumpstart the project once again. 

Back’s project is funded through the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship. 

Any artist in New Jersey is free to apply anonymously and one is awarded based on their artistic abilities in 12 alternating artistic disciplines. Back explained applicants must include an anonymous statement explaining the collages they’ve submitted. 

“You would not believe how often a visual artist’s success requires writing skills,” Back said.

Jared & James, 2005 & 2023

The updated photos display obvious physical changes in the models, but their words present how they have internally remained the same. 

PV 2007 alumni, Andy Perez and Katie Zandonella can attest that while the years flew, by so much has been altered, yet they’ve stayed true to their silly high school ways.  

“To me, it was more interesting to see how much certain things remained the same,” Perez said.  

“In some ways, those days feel like yesterday and in others, a world away. There was an obvious sense of nostalgia and reflection on how life has changed and how much has happened since 2007 and I was excited to see the contrast portrayed visually,”  Zandonella said. 

This became a common theme in the responses when asked how the models felt about coming back to Valley: did they feel different? It was no surprise that many of them felt a surge of nostalgia seeing PV and their teacher for the first time in years. Even Back could catch these glimmers of reminiscence.

“As soon as someone walks into the room, you can tell they’re seeing the past,” Back said. 

She recalled that many of them would come in and talk for hours about the memories this one building holds for them.    

Andy & Kate, 2005 & 2023

“In some way, I am intentionally leaving little clues to the fact that things are updated. Like instead of a kid looking at a book, they’re looking at a computer,” Back said. 

These subtle changes, such as someone’s family included in the remake, help to emphasize how much time has passed.  

By the looks of it, “PV Revisited” will remain a continuous project. 

“It will be a slow process, which is perfect because each session gets the attention it deserves,” Back said. 

To stay updated, you can visit the portfolio at christineback.com/pv-nowandthen#1.