A year after going into quarantine lockdown at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of life seems to have lost its color. This film seeks to explore my journey of discovering new forms of artistic expression in a way that doesn't revive a lost "sense" but instills a newfound appreciation for what is.

This video is about a search for healing during the events of 2020, focusing on the journey of a black student during the social unrest of last year.

I enjoyed taking videos during my travels and made them into short films. But I rarely took videos when I was not traveling. One lesson I learned from this year was that “there is really nothing you can take for granted”. After the pandemics, I became more interested in using videos to capture the moments of my daily life, moments of trivial happiness that heal the wound.

My video shows the progression of work towards my senior thesis show in the Vanderbilt Art Department. My work touches on themes of absence and mending, which have become particularly meaningful in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The pandemic halted my education, my first year at college, and the relationships I was forming with my friends. However, even through those turbulent times, there was a period of prosperity. During quarantine I was able to strengthen my relationship with my family, especially my grandmother. Sharing our love of gardening and plants, we were able to spend time together during uncertain times through her poor health. 

A college student’s reflection of the past year and his outlook for the future past covid19.

Playing, watching, reading and writing about sports are my passions and are what got me through the past year.

The video is a sequence of sunrise and sunset videos. I used my camera as a tool to stay sane during COVID. The beautiful scenes of the nature will help people heal their mind.

Because of the pandemic, I am so far away from my family that everyone can imagine how much I miss them. At this time, music became the best way for me to express and convey my missing emotions.

Coloring in a Life, is a commentary on my time spent in quarantine with a particular focus on the sentiment I often experienced over the course of these months - feeling anxious and trapped. I included footage of a bird which I filmed in my time spent at home, as when I noticed this bird constantly running into his own reflection in the rearview mirror of my car without realizing how to escape, I felt his actions paralleled my feelings during quarantine. The inclusion of outdoor sounds throughout the course of the video, even when I am inside, was intended to highlight the notion of always wishing I was outside all the days I was stuck indoors for fear of contracting COVID if I ran into anyone outdoors.