Present Absence is a five-channel video installation that individualizes and personalizes the lives of 5 people killed by Chicago Police. Originally exhibited at Roman Susan Gallery and Theaster Gates' Stony Island Arts Bank.
For every story, five family members are in virtual conversation, each featured in their own screen to offer their piece of the completed picture. Present Absence uses multichannel storytelling in an intimate living room setting to facilitate deep listening and proffer paths to radical empathy.
Working from the original edits, I reimagined the installation to create a digital video composition that would function online to expand the reach of the work. We incorporated additional information from the gallery exhibition to facilitate a legacy for these family's stories.
Choosing green and blue, I wanted to visually speak to the installation's message of life over loss from police violence.
