The Portraits in US.
The Portraits in Us was created during the Mothlight Academy 16mm Workshop, a four-day intensive led by Mothlight Collective, in collaboration with BULK Space Media Lab and Eightfold Collective.
Mothlight, an artist-run organization dedicated to analog film education and community experimentation, partnered with BULK Space and Eightfold to offer a space where artists could engage directly with material film: shooting, hand-processing, and exploring in-camera techniques using custom 3D-printed matte boxes.
This workshop centered on the slow, intentional process of 16mm filmmaking, learning the mechanics of the Bolex, developing film with coffee and vitamin C, and embracing the unpredictability of analog image-making. The academy exists to preserve access to film as a living medium and to cultivate shared learning rooted in care, curiosity, and experimentation.
The Portraits in Us emerged from this process as both an experiment and a personal study. The work explores how memory traces itself within us, how images become part of our inner archive, and how those archives coexist, overlap, and connect us. Through portraiture, double exposures, and the physicality of hand-processing, the film reflects on the ways our individual histories intertwine, forming a collective record that lives between image, emotion, and lived experience.
Time Will Tell Short Film
Medium: Experimental Film / Voice-over Narrative / Installation
Year: 2024 Time: 10:05
Work in Progress
Time Will Tell is an experimental, voice-over-driven narrative exploring the dialogue between my past and present. Rooted in my own experiences, it also resonates with broader BIPOC stories through familiar rhythms, reflections, and lived realities. The piece prioritizes feeling and connection over conventional storytelling, examining memory, identity, and the ways personal histories ripple outward.
The work began at Womxnhouse Detroit 2024, where I transformed a bedroom into a reflective space using Mylar and crystals, inviting viewers to sit, watch, and contemplate within an environment of light and introspection. The film later screened at the Independent Film Festival Ypsilanti (IFFY). The University Musical Society personally invited the film to be featured, partnering with IFFY to highlight its immersive sound design and interactive audience experience.
While at Womxnhouse, viewers encountered the vision of ten contemporary womxn artists within a home transformed into an immersive exhibition. Curated by Asia Hamilton and Laura Earle, The Art of Being Womxn in America Today brought together installations, performance, and video work reflecting on identity, creativity, and care.
Time Will Tell was created as part of Womxnhouse Detroit, an initiative led by Asia Hamilton, founder of Norwest Gallery, dedicated to supporting BIPOC, women, and nonbinary artists through mentorship, exhibitions, and community-centered programs. Each cohort transforms a home into an interactive experience, blending art and storytelling as acts of reflection and reclamation.
