I'm Not Me

University of North Carolina, Grenesboro Gatewood Gallery, 2008

Single channel video

I was invited to lecture and create a project at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. During my lecture I presented the audience with a list of unmade projects that I had kept in my notebook for years and asked them to choose a few that I would make for the upcoming exhibition at their school. One of the ideas they chose  I've had for a longtime. It involves me videotaping a group of teenagers hanging  out casually discussing random stuff, then scripting the conversation and having the teens reenact it. The inspiration came from my own often-stoned teenage life where I felt that I was mimicking the behaviors of those around me without fully embodying them—somewhat like a recently arrived alien who has been watching humans from afar and now must live amongst them. 

While scouting for teenagers I was led to twin brothers who had an amazing group of close friends, brought closer together by a recent family tragedy. In the end, I ditched much of the first idea and decided to make a short experimental-document focusing on their unique collective yet isolated state-of-mind.