single-channel video, 8:00

In Keeping Things Whole, a man appears and moves alone across a snow-swept field toward a line of trees, disappearing into the white void of a blizzard. Apparitions of watchful animals drift in and move away, witnesses or guides to the figure’s journey. Sounds of howling wind and occasional strains of music create a dynamic, aural landscape and add to the piece’s melancholic tone, while layers of swirling snow combine with the monochromatic environment, reminiscent of a painterly India ink wash.

This piece, inspired by Mark Strand’s famous poem of the same name, offers a deliberate, meditative slowness punctuated with moments of temporary rapture. This project was commissioned by the Poetry Society of America through their Poetry in Motion Pictures program and screened on PBS’ Reel NY.