We can be scared of many things, the imagination as innocent children distorting our happy reality. In the end, the dictation of our own imagination become the root of our own fear. We cannot gain full control of it.

Title: Paralysis

Location: Home

Music: Pokemon- Lavender Town Theme Song (Backwards)

Questions: How can the video selfie be used to alter identity? How might video be used to conceal identity? How do the objects that surround you contribute to your sense of identity?

My inspiration is derived from a photographer named Nicolas Bruno. He recreates his dreams during sleep paralysis (ever since he was 15) through photography. He is admirable and unique because not only he touches upon the genre of horror (which artists usually feel uncomfortable to contact with), he also explores how to visualize nightmares and fears, a feat difficult for many.

Nicolas Bruno Photography

Nicolas Bruno Photography

Nicolas Bruno Photography

Nicolas Bruno Photography

I filmed this video in my home, because it is the place where we always go back to; our safe abode. Nevertheless, it is also the place where our fears take root in because we can often find fear in the place where we take comfort in (bed, closets, bathroom, the garden, etc.). It is the most terrifying when even your safest haven is attacked by your fears and there is now no more back-up plan for you to hide in.

Furthermore, I emphasize this scariness by filming in complete darkness, highlighting how even in the place you call home, there is no light for you to go to- it’s an eternal darkness, and a trap you can potentially never get out of.

I also put on a Noh mask, which is a mask I am frankly quite terrified of ever since I was young. I want to use the idea where you become your own fears because your own imagination and ideals are what dictates what you are afraid of.

Next, I added one of my best friends; squawky chicken. It is a toy that I like to play with, which shows how childish I really am and perhaps, also the inner child in me. This chicken is a great personification of me in my opinion- childish, friendly in bright colours- usually a very comforting companion for me especially when I am bored and lonely. However, this time, I placed it in a scary and dark environment- not friendly at all, and the usual comical face of the chicken becomes one of petrifying terror. In a sense, I am transforming my comfort into my fear once again. It is as though the chicken (me) is trapped and has no way to escape because my own fears are overpowering me in the place I once call home.

Altering my identity through letting me conceal who I really am, and allowing me to change into another thing afterwards?

The video selfie helped me to alter my identity because it gives me an opportunity to become someone entirely different. It allowed me to express a message which I would usually not be able to convey in real life. It conceals my identity because it is not live and physical, meaning that should I show this video to a random person on the street, they will not be able to figure out who I am, and cannot do so either. In this video, I am no longer Joey, but a creepy masked guy with a terrified chicken. I would also say that the darkness and the concept of home being engulfed with fear contributed to the idea that I am my own nightmare, and the chicken is a personification of myself.

Thank you and sorry if you got scared by the video. Have a cookie!