Selves (Sitting with Myself)
Venue: CVRA, University of Illinois, Chicago / December 2012
Dimension: 286" x 155"
Projected video, projectors, pedestals.
The work considers the role of the portrait as a reference point in time through which we can contemplate the present. As history adds inevitable weight to our characters, we evolve from the untainted optimism of youth and are shaped by our perceptions of achievement and failure.
As a gesture of self-study and reflection, I stare at a computer screen that features a self-portrait from my youth. My face is recorded by the front-facing webcam as I move and shift in an effort to align my present image to a portrait from his past. A second webcam records this process from behind, capturing an additional perspective of me as I participate in the exercise.
The two videos are then projected onto opposing walls of the gallery space from video projectors mounted on pedestals in the center of the room.
