Otherother

Chantal Fraser is an artist based in Australia. We were introduced while working on an exhibition that I was curating. Chantal came to California to do a residency for the exhibition.

We discovered while working together that we both were of mixed parentage. Her mother was a Samoan as was my dad. We also discovered we are cousins.

Our conversations led to how we were perceived in the community of other Pacific Islander artists. We both experienced our work being suspect or not taken seriously because of our cultural mix. “You’re not Samoan, enough,” “You’re too white,” or “How would you know anything,” were phrases often lodged at us from both inside and outside the community.

We wanted to address this conflict, illustrating the issue of “otherness” within our own community.

The distance between us – Chantal in Brisbane and I in Los Angeles – presented difficulties in collaborating in a physical manner. Digital and the use of smartphones gave us the opportunity to produce a video piece that supported our needs.

Overcoming the obstacle of distance but not knowing the outcome, we agreed to produce a recording on our smartphones (we both had the same model of iPhones).

Determining the distance of framing, the temperament of the environment, and following choreographed movements, we each produced a video three minutes in length.

Chantal sent her component, which I overlaid with mine. Adding transparency and syncing the timing, the video was completed with a mechanical time soundtrack.

The result was a two-minute video that could be looped. The piece went beyond our concept of otherness, opening avenues of conversation in other areas.

Given the name “Otherother”, the video has the potential to question perception, the subtilities of interaction, and the perspective of identity.