Can We Still Fix This? (2025)
An analogue film project using experimental film practices.
Within the first unstable and stressful quarter of their lives, Gen Z has faced numerous global crises that previous generations typically encountered later in their lives. Environmental changes, global pandemics, political instability, and social uncertainty have plagued our coming-of-age years. Many avoid these problems, and those of previous generations often insist that our generation is soft, that we’re overreacting, and our difficulties are overstated. This results in many people my age feeling burnt out, yet we’re expected to mend the harm to the world while we’re still trying to figure out who we are. This tension between duty and exhaustion forms the foundation of Can We Still Fix This?
This body of work reflects my own anxiety, as well as my generation's, about our futures and the limits of our imagination. Through semi-blurry and blurry intimate photographs of nature, I explore the feeling of not being able to see far into the future. By soaking film to manipulate the negatives, I echo my generation’s struggle to imagine what our lives will be like in the next five—or even ten—years, in a world plagued with constant threats.
​
Despite the reflection of the end of our peace, the title suggests optimism: that everything can be okay and our world could be healed.
​
These images stem from my mental state, but acknowledge that I'm not alone, and these are generational experiences that resonate with many, inviting viewers to address these problems and their relationships with these pressures.
​
The installation enables viewers to engage with the concept by watching the slow degradation of the four film negatives, encouraging them to linger. Burnout is not discussed enough despite its deservingness, and when it is, it’s common to be dismissed. In these environments, it’s difficult to enjoy creating and being able to without being held back by constant stress and anxiety. However, you can still make something beautiful, even from destroyed negatives, encouraging viewers to visualize our futures and our place within them.