Mirror Games

My Submission to New Haven Music Film Festival 2026

A through line in much of my artistic work and writing since I was young has been highly critical of technology. I made this two part music video in 2013, 13 years ago amidst enormous cultural shifts, the impending technological rush and doom of AI, disturbing nature of newly released drones and the concept and nature of selfhood adjusting to social media.

With Artificial Intelligence collective anxiety and dread at an all time high right now, this perhaps resonates even more than it did. This is dedicated to fellow, human-first educators that teach responsibility and critical thinking in regards to technology and social media.

This was accompanied by an essay for a class at Bard College reflecting on Ovid’s Metamorphosis, Freud’s Mirror stage, Barbara Johnsons Persons and Things, Narcissus, Shelly, Kleist and the uncanny valley.

I loosely choreographed the dancers. I had them play with the mirror game which is often used in theatre warm ups, where both partners try to guess and match the moves of the other, like a mirror, taking turns leading intuitively. I had them do this with eyes closed, then open and then play and dance with their images and the sound.

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Featured dancers: Alison Kidd and Liv Bruce

Stay by Rhianna and the remixed Stay by Branchez, both songs cited

Nikon DSLR, Final Cut Pro 2013