This projection was made by dividing the color of two overlaid videos.

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The base layer: direct animation by students of Units N/O of L** P******* Juvenile Hall on clear 16mm film using POSCA paint markers and sharpies. The students freely expressed themselves directly onto the film, ignoring the frame boundaries entirely. As a result, their drawings animate in an abstract whirlwind of shapes and colors, undulating in size, speed, and direction. In an instant, the images morph from loud to gentle or lumpy to smooth, reflecting the nature of the process. The youth sat along a long table where the film was laid out, drawing side-by-side, each student’s piece flowing into the other’s. 

 

The second layer: photobooth videos taken on Macbook (an approved material for art class programming) of Units S1 of L** P******* Juvenile Hall. These are loosely structured conversations where the youth reflect on art, rehabilitation, and their dreams within the confines of a correctional facility. 

 

Video recording is strictly prohibited in the Detention Hall. Images of the youth can by no means leave the facility. Cameras are denied entry, and the only way to see a reflection of oneself is off the clouded, double-sided security glass. The faces of incarcerated youth cannot be seen by anyone, not even by the youth themselves. 

 

This projection materializes those faces while still maintaining the students’ anonymity through color distortion. Their images, both drawn and captured on camera, transform into physical light that is seen, felt, and heard. The projection reflects the hands that stained the film and the faces that bounce light through the camera onto the screen. It serves as both an archive, preserving the stories of unseen youth, and a mirror, offering them an abstract, realized image of themselves.

 

A huge thank you to Isabella Van Ran Zow for her support and wisdom throughout this process, and to Bosco Maltez for his mentorship and database of interviews. And of course, to the students of L** P******* Juvenile Hall, for their time, stories, and kindness.