14 hours of sun
artist statement: (spoilers)
The project was initially inspired by the disconnect between the inside and outside world as a result of the quarantine. I wanted to bridge the two worlds together. I started by recording typical sounds in an American suburban home. Laundry machine, dish washer, door opening, walking, toilet flushing, and so on. What I realized after reviewing these sounds was that they were just AWFUL! Not pleasant to listen to, which is interesting because normally we don’t mind these things in everyday life. I found that funny.
The past winter break, I explored the neighborhood and found an empty hill. It was towering over the rest of the neighborhood. It was serene. The light breeze was calming. No one was watching me. It became a spot I frequented since then. What allured me the most was this section of dirt. It had a lot of human waste piled up on it. Traffic cones, road sign, pvc pipes, palette, ladder, metal cage, bottles, cups, boxes, hoses. My mom told me that this neighborhood was built on what used to be a landfill. Despite all the waste, plants were thriving around it. Birds, snakes, and rabbits were also visiting this spot. One thing stood out - these black garden pots. They seemed deliberate, filled with dirt, arranged delicately. I didn’t think much of it.
The day I went to shoot photos for this project, someone drove up and parked on the hill. It wasn’t uncommon for joggers and maintenance workers to pass by - but they usually didn’t stop here. The man walked out and pulled out the same black garden pots I saw before. He placed them and started watering them. I pieced it together - it’s him! In the brief conversation I had with him I learned he moved in 2 years ago and started planting them here since. The photographer side of me knew how lucky I was to be in the right place at the right time. I wanted to document him doing his thing, take his portrait, and do a short interview to learn more. When i asked if he was busy, he told me he would be back soon with more plants.
An hour passed by, and I had to go to a Zoom meeting. He still hasn’t shown up, and I lost hope that I would ever see him again before this project was due. Oh how my ideal project plan dissolved like that! But maybe it was for the better. He did say that he didn’t want people knowing about this spot. In a way, it was a little secret between us. I don’t even know his name. Before departing, he told me that this was the only place around where the sunlight hit the ground for all 14 hours from sunrise to sunset.
The video was a tale of this journey. It’s subtly divided into three acts (you can tell by the different timings text and images are shown): 1. From home to the outside, 2. The hill to myself, 3. The encounter. When matching images with sounds, I considered the shape of the objects and the emotions evoked by the objects (to me at least). So the final video came to be the way it is now.
I’ve lived here for only 4 years, but I have a lot of sentiment for this neighborhood. It was the start of my photography journey. It’s where I got my first DSLR and took my first timelapse. It’s where a lot of photography projects began. I’m moving away after graduation, to Seattle. I’m going to miss climbing various hills to get a good vantage point of the city, the construction, and the mountains.
East View
West View
