My father and I were close in my early childhood. Nothing significant happened to damage our relationship, but because of a new addition to our family and the economic stress that came afterward, we gradually became aloof with the passage of time. When I was eleven, my father took a job in China. His absence affected me in many subtle ways. I began to reflect on the sense of vacancy with which my father had marked me, ultimately recognizing that many issues in my life were a result of my deep desire to reconcile with him.
I long for an authentic conversation with my father, for him to
both know me and embrace me. I engage this longing in my work; many of my
videos represent letters to my father—written, but never mailed. This one-sided
discourse has carried over into a narrative film, an approach that I hope will
give me the courage to communicate with my father.
