I
met my boyfriend on the internet about four years ago, and our means of
communication throughout the years has changed accordingly; from emails to
texts to video chatting on Skype. The latter was a major turning point for our
relationship, I believe. Although we had been dating for about a year before we
were capable of that sort of interaction, we were limited simply to text and
voice interactions. I was aware that physical reference and appearance was
important in a relationship, but I didn’t fully comprehend it until I could
finally see my boyfriend’s face for the first time, in person. There was
something almost magical about it. I have a whole slew of new things to say
about him. All of the wonderful physical traits and speaking mannerisms and
body language that he has have become an important part of my image of him. He
lives in California, and many times the distance between us is extremely
disconcerting. It’s hard to have someone you are close to, and being limited to
a detached form of communication the majority of the time. Even with the
fantastic technology of being able to see and talk with someone in real time,
it doesn’t change the fact that he goes away when I shut down my computer for the
night.
With this project, I wanted to share
with viewers a sort of similar feeling that comes with being in a long distance
relationship, both in the communication method, and the overall emotions that
accompany the whole affair. I recorded a few snippets of the chat sessions I
have with my boyfriend over Skype, and made it so it appears the viewer is the
one having the conversation with the person on the other end. I recorded both
myself, and him, and switch between the two perspectives intermittently. You
cannot hear what anyone is saying, however, so there’s an air of ambiguity, and
maybe a sort of discomfort to the fact that someone appears to be speaking to
you, but you are unable to hear them. This parallels to quite a few of the
emotions I feel regarding the distance between the two of us: there are many
things we are incapable of doing the majority of the time.
But the video is not silent. I
recorded myself, and had my boyfriend record himself, monologuing about how we
feel about our respective partner. The personal, and sometimes somber, words
juxtapose themselves frequently against the rather jovial images of ourselves.
In a way, it shows the complexities of our relationship, and how, in the end,
we are happy with where we are and where we are going.
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