Title: September 22nd - 09:46
Medium: Super-8 film
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Resolution: 2880 x 2160
File Type: H.264 Codec / MP4.
Comments: From one day to the next, and a red phone booth to another. We are traveling between space and time again. I met with my fashionista friend, Ashumi, for a quick bite and a chai at a cafe nearby. My plan was to make a fun fashion style shoot that was very on brand with Ashumi's Prada lifestyle and passion. Where does art end and advertising begin? I think when the intention to sell something, namely a piece of clothing or perfume. So in that vain of editorial creative direction I played on advertising and made my art. Not to sell anything at all, but to convey a vision I had of my friend Ashumi living her dream in that world of hers. I am not one to say yes to any commercial work or advertising gigs at all. I make art for myself and to heal, to connect with the world. One can say I am a purist and the art will lead me to opportunities for sustainability. I don't need or wish to sell my soul to any corporation that grinds me down into oblivion just to make another dollar. Art was made to save lives, not destroy them. Fashion is also an art form, an expression of who you are through what you wear. How does branding change all of that, how does it contaminate the purity of expression, does it even at all? I am not sure, but I tend to stay away from commodifying a vision that was meant to be art in itself. But hey, that's just me and how I navigate the world and that's okay! We all live our lives to be true to ourselves, right? So I will stay in my lane as an artist making videos and photos of my family, friends, strangers, and mystics all around the world. To convey an idea, to portray the soul of humanity through an innocent lens. Ashumi and her future forward brand knows how to bring people together and I respect that. Community building is not just a title, its a force of connectivity. She looked at me with her golden reflective glasses on the bridge. Spun a little to see all sides of her, walked down the stairs and away. With only one final glance before heading back to her husband and family. This was nearly the halfway mark, the middle of the art project. The next time we saw one another was at the Venice Biennial 6 months later at the Prada Foundation exhibition for the amazing artist, Mitchell Chan, a couple months after the completion of the MOTU film. In a world that is speeding up and that is always in a flux, art is the constant. The optimistic beacon that is my guiding light in this life. The yellow brick road that twists and turns but never ends. Nor do I want it to until my final breath. For it all to become a distant memory in art history.
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