'Chorus' Performance and Video, 2011

Through a process of interviews and reenactments I synthesized my own narrative coming out and my experiences as gay man with a chorus of other individuals through the online confessional format, in particular, the It Gets Better Project. I want to highlight what makes a message resonate with people - Is it a facial expression? Is it how the person who told the story looks? How long does it take to convey a message? I housed the voices of all the individuals I interviewed and lip sunk their words into one narrative that asks these questions while telling their stories. 

The online video platform of social movement’s such as Dan Savage’s It Gets Better Campaign are expanding the face and voice of a self defined minority. Chorus is an attempt to confound notions of individuality, represented diversity, and shared experience with memorized lip sinking of personally recorded “It Gets Better Interviews” Through the erasure of identity and reperformance of these interviews Chorus is meant to prompt the following questions among many others. Is hardship necessary to connect? How long does it take to express what something felt like? How many details are important? What details cannot be told? What events does one identify with their minority status?