February 29th - 11:11

Title: February 29th - 11:11 Medium: Super-8 film Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Resolution: 2880 x 2160 File Type: H.264 Codec / MP4. Comments: Every four years there is a leap year. An extra day in the shortest month of the year. February flies by quicker than the rest. When I started, Every Day is a Gift, a project where I found someone on their birthday every day without missing a day, I made a polaroid portrait. There was one day that had escaped me. Even though I started in 2012, which was already a leap year, I started the project in September. I finished the project in September 2013 to finish the year long work. I promised myself that one day I will fulfill the prophecy and make a portrait of someone on their birthday on the leap year. My best friend from high school was a kid named Matthew Haley. His birthday was on leap year and the only person I ever met with that date. Technically, he was 4 years old when he passed away. It was the most traumatic experience for me in tenth grade. I was with him one minute hanging out skateboarding, then later that day he was struck by a car. He died a week later. Leap year reminds me of Matthew. So, in a way this was not just for me to fulfill an invisible date for the project. It was to honor my friend who has long passed, that I dearly keep in my heart. Matthew taught me how to play music, to be kind, to be gracious, to be grateful, to have fun! He was a good friend. This portrait is for my buddy Matthew. And, to fulfill a project I started more then ten years ago. The birthday project is complete, in the Moments of the Unknown. Where two projects cross over and can connect over a decade. Stories intertwined, memory and meaning come together. Celebration of life, because truly, Every Day is a Gift on this Earth.