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NO. 139“GETTING OUT OF BED”
VIDEO INSTALLATION: 2:38SEC 2017 “NO 139 - GETTING OUT OF BED” WAS ORIGINALLY CONCEPTUALIZED AS A 3 CHANNEL INSTALLATION BUT IS CURRENTLY COMPILED INTO A SINGLE VIDEO PROJECTION OR MONITOR. IT DECONSTRUCTS MY PERSONAL BOUTS OF LETHARGY, DEPRESSION AND ANALYZES THE UNDERLYING STRUCTURES THAT COMPRISES MY INABILITY TO, IN A SENSE, “GET OUT OF BED.” CONSISTING OF FOUND FOOTAGE, SHOT FOOTAGE AND TEXT; THREE VIDEOS PLAY ATOP A DISORGANIZED DESKTOP FULL OF IMAGES AND OPEN BROWSERS. CRITICAL OF THE STRESS WE CONDITION OURSELVES TO OPERATE UNDER, THE EXCESS ASSORTMENT OF MEDIA AND INFORMATION CAN BURDEN OUR ABILITY TO FUNCTION. THE MAIN CONCERN BEING HOW CAN WE OVERCOME THE MENTAL STRAIN WE PUT OURSELVES IN? |
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"The Walk" Video Loop 1:01sec 2016
"The Anthem" Video Loop 1:37sec 2016 "Draw Me Close" Video Loop :16sec 2016 “The Walk,” “The Anthem,” and “Draw Me Close” all depict the artist, shifting through the changing landscape of our media culture. Incorporating an outlined image of the artist and utilizing found footage, it depicts a visual representation of the often conflicting narrative, given to us by the media and or general consensus on how we engage with that media. |
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“The New Void” Video: 9:58 sec 2013
For the past 2 and a half years, depression and its effects has been a large part of my life. When our second daughter was born, my wife went into severe depression for 6 months. She slept 18 hour days, she stopped lactating after 1 month and didn’t have her period for five. She stopped communicating, threatened me with suicide, was unable to function, didn’t shower and didn’t want to meet anybody for that period of time. My whole life changed. We moved to Korea, a big part because of her depression, and our children were heavily affected by their mother’s lost of will to live. A lot of people dismiss depression as “feeling blue” and going through a “down phase.” I did as well initially. I felt that my wife was weak, that for some reason, she wanted to ignore her responsibilities as a mother as times got a little hard. Little did I know, it wasn’t just our financial situation or her being away in a foreign country. Yes, it was the catalyst, but to fully understand her depression, her entire 34 years of existence had to unfold and a lot of the issues she ran away from had to be mended. This was no small task, and to this day, she deals with issues that I wouldn’t be able to understand. What I finally do understand is that depression is a disease. Its a disease that effects 350 million people a year world-wide. Its not feeling blue or wanting to sleep in that day, its not something that can be cured through exercise and drinking pomegranate juice. Its being non- |
functional and ultimately, you behave in a way that you normally wouldn’t which can lead to suicide.
Since opening my eyes to depression, I’ve encountered way too many people who exhibit some sort of depressive tendencies. I’m sure most people go through a minor form of depression and can live their lives feeling a little down, but when it becomes so suppressive that you are no longer able to function, or that you see no satisfying resolution and conclude that suicide is the only escape, it becomes more of an epidemic in a society where a million people take their lives each year. In an attempt to raise awareness of the need for dialogue in terms of depression, I did the only thing I am capable of doing and that is to create a film. Everyone involved in this film has been effected by depression in some way and in order to properly bring discussion on a topic that seems every bit relevant as bullying in school or the current economic condition; I have created my interpretation of a disease that effects so many lives. Even if you hate the film, please remember the urgency that this issue demands. Many in our society shy away from acknowledging depression as a major disease and live with it until finally, they do something that can never be undone. They are embarrassed to seek professional help and most importantly, they are rarely ready to emotionally deal with friends and family members dealing with depression, a readiness that can help save so many lives. |
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“We Are All Dead or Soon Will Be” Video Installation 2:08sec 2012
Once we acknowledge our eventual death, only then can we live. This is the philosophy the video piece “We Are All Dead or Soon Will Be” derives off of. The notion that we all at some point, have died, will die or dying is a concept that links everyone together. The video shows flickering images of celebrities and historical figures who are dead or who have yet to die; but in the end, will eventually die. It puts into perspective, the commonality of our existence and suggests the sameness of what we will eventually become. |
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“Divine Nature of Mother and Her Sins Within” Video 2:03sec 2010
“Divine Nature of Mother and Her Sins Within” is a video that depicts a female figure as mother nature and a floating cube that contains news, archival footage, along with advertising, war footage and current events such as the Kobe Bryant rape scandal. It contains layers of images, overlaid with graphic texture and uses analog animation techniques along with found sound and effects to anchor the theme of self-destruction. |
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“Death by a 1000 Frames” 3 Channel Installation 5:28sec 2010 “Death by a 1000 Frames” derives its name from Linchi or Death by a thousand cuts; a form of torture used in China up until 1905. “Death by a 1000 Frames” is a 3 channel installation that consists of single frame images flickering in succession. A 1000 images were downloaded from 3 categories. The first channel uses images of material excess and greed. The second channel uses images of sexuality and porn. The third channel comprises of images of war and death. The images alternate with text that reads “I HATE MYSELF.” Like various torture methods, the video reflects upon images as a form of torture; questioning our greed and our intentions for material obsession, sexual lust and our craving for power which manifests itself in the form of war. We gravitate towards these vices, only to reveal its self destructing force. How much of the video can we take? How long can we sit there before we get sick? The process of downloading these individual images was at times nauseating and grotesque. “There’s only so much porn we can take, before we get numb to the images.” |