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Untitled Identity Video Project, 2013 

 

Fascinated by the notion of performance in everyday life, this body of work reflects how identity has the potential to transform as a result of social context, bias, and self-awareness. In the presence of others, we claim a sense of adaptability, manipulating ourselves into ascribed personas. This begs the question of whether one can ever have a single, true sense of identity, or, if the seemingly “artificial” personas we conform to are any less real in comparison.

 

The four split screens are displayed simultaneously to overwhelm and evoke the viewer’s sensory experience, limiting the ability to fully engage with any one persona at a time and reinforcing uncertainty as to whether or not all or just one is “real.” Dramatic lighting contributes to the staged performative nature of each scene, while the specific imagery – a stuffed animal, cameo necklace, and the human figure – are meant to evoke each persona based upon memories, experiences, and my own personal bias. Within each scene, near-constant manipulation occurs, suggesting desire to overcome these identities, but to no avail. Contributing to this is the pulsating sound which accents the imagery by providing subtle drama through its fluctuating intensity. Guided by sound, the viewer experiences the struggle through its rising and falling. The immersive quality emphasizes ambiguity with relation to identity through somewhat non-descript sounds.

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