rest in paradise -- video and quilt

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​In 2016, I was fascinated by the YouTube memorial videos of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Advertisement banners overlaid all YouTube videos in 2016. I would look past “Free two hour delivery!” or “Find a location near you!” as a slideshow of images of deceased loved ones faded in and out to poignant music. Some of the people mourned were from the community I grew up in. Others were strangers. But all of the videos shared a similar format for sharing and freezing grief.

I took and collected screenshots of these videos during this time. Since the advertisements were overlaying the videos, they were also collected.

The memorial videos I watched, our access to them, and the way they are displayed to us are at the whim of an ever-changing platform. These lives are literally framed and sustained by gentle reminders to consume. In both life and in death, it hegemonizes.

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(2016 - 2025)

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