Helt magisk video till singeln Lonely river med Kylan.
Han börjar i underkläderna och dansar sig sedan igenom låten och olika klädstilar i en stor vit lagerlokal. Allt för att illustrera hur vi igenom livet stämplar varandra efter etnicitet, kön, sexuell orientering och välstånd. Samtidigt som det gör det svårt att hitta sin egna identitet.
Lysande genomfört och definitivt en tankeställare. Men framförallt: en bra låt.
From the moment we are born we are each given a label. Girl. Boy. Pink. Blue. With these labels comes a set of preconceptions and rules.
The more we move through life, the more labels we accumulate, until not only can others not see beyond them, but we too struggle to find our true and individual selves amongst them.
My earliest memories are filled with experimentation and expression; wearing my new wellies in bed, dressing up in sparkly clothes and makeup, going to school dressed as a superhero. I did whatever made me happy and felt right, as most kids do.
But with time things began to change. From age six I was constantly called a girl because I had long hair, then I got a little older and that changed to “coconut” (black on the outside, white on the inside) because I was academic and that wasn’t considered a trait associated with a black boy. Labels are used as a tool to manage the expectation of what we as a person or a group of people is capable of and those other kids were just following what they had been taught by society. It didn’t take very long for me to go from not giving a damn to being painfully aware of how I was perceived by others.
We live in a world where the label ‘girl’ means that 132 million girls receive little or no education. A world where the word ‘terrorist’ has become synonymous with the word ‘Muslim’. A world where the label ‘gay’ makes you a criminal in over 70 countries.
With this video I wanted to mash together different labels, and overlap, contradict and juxtapose stereotypes that I’ve encountered in my own life.
In the making of the video, I found it fascinating how little it takes to shape somebody’s impression of you. A layer of lipstick and a red scarf and instantly the conclusion drawn is very different to that of the same character with a baggy hoody, jeans and Timberlands.
I wanted to create a video that embraced individuality, fluidity and the freedom to create and be your own you, outside of the boxes that are provided.
