Eloise Sherrid is a New York based filmmaker and multi-media artist, and a recent graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. What is “normal,” and why is difference threatening? I’m interested in the mechanics of social narrative. How does media-making shape the way society imagines itself, from notions of race and ability, to social class and capitalism? Where are the intersections between that perception and reality, and where are the blind spots? And how can those mechanics be leveraged to expose erased narratives?
I collaborated with designer Sky Cubacub and painter Lauryn Welch to create a series of surreal cinemagraphs celebrating queercrip bodies through the clothing line, Rebirth Garments. A cinemagraph is a still photograph that contains small looping sections of video: like gifs, but with intention. We created this series to explore the concept of “radical visibility,” using the uncanny looping of the medium to have the models move in unnerving ways to accentuate and celebrate their otherness. In this vein, we also designed Lauryn’s colorful backdrops with Sky’s designs in mind, creating a kind of reverse camouflage effect.