Hello and welcome

to my very own corner of the internet. On this page you can find some information about me and some of the art I have done. The purpose of this website is to give you an idea of who I am and some of the wacky and funky things I have made! This website is intended to be viewed on a computer monitor screen. If you are on a smart phone, throw that thing in the ocean! You don't need that tracking + mind control device, man! Otherwise, I hope you enjoy yourself on my site and have a fun time!
Please let me know what you think of my site by signing my guestbook or by sending me an email at sydvyd - @ - proton - . - me
You can also use this email address to contact me about Vee-Jay bookings, TouchDesigner/Video contracts, purchasing originals of art you see on this website, or commissioning new art!

ABOUT ME

I have a Panasonic DVX100B camera named Wendy that a photography teacher in my high school gave me for free. It's been through so much and has lots of bangs and bruises to show for it, but I love it more than any other camera in the world. I watch a lot of movies. Sometimes my friends and I put on screenings of the good movies we've watched. I like the idea of making art out of trash, or in abandoned spaces. I believe dancing and gathering to listen to loud sounds can be liberatory. I don't believe in preservation, or the canon. I believe holding and engaging complexity allows people to move through the world in a more just, open, and wise way, so conversations, history, art, and personal practices should strive towards that. Lately I have been thinking about this thru the idea of INARTICULATION, which I don't think is a word. Scribbles, weeds, patchwork, Wang Bing's presentation of his documentary subjects, transness, and noise are some INARTICULATIONs I am imagining in a comparative, nonsense Venn diagram way.
I think all of my art has been a gravitation towards this, but I'm interested in diving into it more SERIOUSLY now. I haven't finished much of the serious stuff yet though. When I do, you will see it on my web page.

Here are some things I am in love with: Trees, wild berries, elephants, small bugs, large bugs, moving water, caves, fungi, interconnectedness. My friends past and present. My sister and parents. My taekwondo club and former instructor. My neighbors who are on the stoop ready to chat. Trans people. Harsh noise music. Good DJ sets. The many beautiful ways people move their bodies. Bad sewing. Very long movies. Slowness, gratitude, and change.

ABOUT MY FRIENDS

They're so great. I couldn't do anything I do or be a fraction of the person I am without my friends helping, inspiring, and challenging me along the way. Andee took the photo you see on this front page. Zach is the entire reason I was able to make this website, but it's not his fault that it looks this way. Kole, Ani, Aloysia, Shana, and Phi are constant influences on how I'm thinking and what I'm trying out. I love you all so much. And watch the credits on my videos!! There's been so many amazing people I've gotten to work with over time.

WIPs:

⩥ (audio?) documentary about Fieldens, a private, after hours gay club that ran from 1976-2010 in Richmond, VA
⩥ video about the gentrification, redevelopement, change, etc. of Philadelphia from footage shot in 2019
⩥ stop motion wish fufillment short about resisting gentrification in Philadelphia

UPCOMING WORK:

⩥ audio piece about trans voices
⩥ a work about the relationship trans people have with chronic pain
⩥ new reCAPTCHA set about constructing narrative from historical archive

A NOTE ON USE

I believe that people are inclined to share ideas and media in good faith, and I want to encourage that. I also don't know how you sleep at night if you are a tech bro scraping the internet for people's data to develop your ads and surveillance infrastructure. That's to say, with infinite optimism, I hope you make creative use of what you find on this site, and with realism, I have little control over what you do. But shame on you if you're said tech bro.

WHAT HAS ROCKED MY SOCKS

⩥ Filmmakers: Wang Bing, Haile Gerima, Naomi Kawase, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Kazuo Hara, Aleksey German, Shinya Tsukamoto, Tsai Ming-liang, Jon Moritsugu, Gregg Araki, Fred Keleman. Here is my letterboxd.
⩥ Writers: Saidiya Hartman, Ross Gay, Frank Wilderson, Paul Preciado, Toni Morrison, Octavia Butler, Ralph Ellison, Jean Genet, Bruno Schultz, Kafka
⩥ Podcasts: Black Earth Podcast, Madness Radio, Techtonic, The Overpopulation Podcast, How 2 Human, Archive Fever