Runtime 07:22

Saltwater draws from my childhood near the ocean in California, where my family would walk along concrete boat harbors, wading and exploring. On these outings I found bits of furniture and rocks that appeared to be ripped from the foundations of homes, making me wonder about the histories that lived in these physical objects. These artifacts became beacons of connection to lives lost, as well as a grounding point for my own ideas on non-traditional forms of memory. This film focuses on these ideas of permanence, applying this intense need to manifest physical memories to my first love.

I used artificial intelligence to create many scenes in Saltwater, where a program attempted to recreate archived photos, much like a person struggling to recall a memory. Addressing the instability one feels during changes in relationships, I opened myself to the vulnerability of letting a  program make controlling decisions for this film. I was heavily inspired by the tactile forms of concrete that went along with these physical memories, and made tactile forms an essential component of the production of the film. Every frame was printed out on paper and scanned in, creating a texture that mimicks the pocked feel of concrete.

With Saltwater, I tried to create material, permanent forms of love and self, an impossible task in a transitional life.