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Title
now i close my eyes the world i see is so beautiful
Director
April Lin 林 森Date
2020Origin
United KingdomDescription
NOW I CLOSE MY EYES THE WORLD I SEE IS SO BEAUTIFUL samples lines from the Taiwanese New Wave film Yi Yi, and those borrowed words, those intergenerational whisperings in Chinese dialect, had me pondering at how ancestors and descendants create bridges — across time, and if you’re diasporic, across global space.
Contact: linaaaapril@gmail.com
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These bridges feel all too easily invisible to me, but what would it look like if we were strolling on them? What if we jumped off? Would we create another bridge, or open up a new dimension?
The music video begins with me undergoing a self-conducted ritual, shaving my head to the bare scalp. I initiate a process of remembrance and imagining, and what follows are the adventures the many versions of my 爷爷 / yeye / grandfather and I have, roaming around together in different worlds. In our shared, “objective” reality, this man’s fondness brimmed at his eyes, never spilling over, careful not to stain. In the parallel dimension of this music video, we go on the journeys we were never able to, promenades becoming quests in the numerous destinations of Second Life.
We relive the moments never captured on camera, aided by Google Street View. Images of us are projected on my skin, and shining these memories in their reverted form of captured light, I absorb their meaning once again. I ingest these moments, feeding on them, nourishing them and nourishing myself on them, thus keeping the portals open to the worlds beyond, within, and between.