Chimeral States 4 (Changing Eyes)
2016
Single-Channel Video
Edition of 4 and 2 Artists Proofs
Dimensions Variable
3:44

Voluptuous and tender, raw and indulgent, endeared and coerced, Chimeral States 4 (Changing Eyes) offers a double-sided view into interpersonal motivations. The soft yet assured voice behind the lyrics requests a “reason to live” and a “reason to die,” issuing a melancholic challenge to an unknown source. As the two figures morph from one identity to another, the perceived power dynamics of their pairings inherently shift. A Wall Street man plays with a rent boy. A mother and daughter perform with their favorite doll, denoting the classic Freudian notion of a baby as a stand-in for the phallus. A father and son make selfies as a young woman taunts her fiancé with an egg. Porcelain or cellular, contentment appears to be within arm’s reach. Best friends compare the contents of their clutches, obliviously fighting dissatisfaction. The natural world is reduced to a mere backdrop – a souvenir memento mori attempting to capture a digital memory of happiness.