Directors Charlie Nordstrom and Laksmi Hedemark capture the spirit of improvisation in this introspective video for artist Shantell Martin’s debut music release. The New York-based Brit is best known for her stream-of-consciousness drawings—oftentimes forming one unbroken line. Here, Nordstrom and Hedemark offer some insight into their video which features performers from Oakland-based dance company TURFinc:
“Much like when Martin approaches a blank canvas, she and the dancers didn't meet until the cameras started rolling. In fact, Martin's lyrics are often unknown to her until she's saying them. In this video, what is captured is an incredible glimpse of a group of artists melding together to create a visual and oral piece of art.
"The challenge was, how do we let the world see this other part of an artist, while also building off what they already know of her? To do this we referenced Martin's strong use of lines and the black and white worlds she explores in her work, while keeping the video simple enough to draw focus to the artist and her words.”