Post-Process Reflection:

We are currently living in a time defined by chaotic idleness. Many of us are being forced to slow down due to our community’s response to COVID, while at the same time constantly being bombarded with media saturated with turmoil. Each day runs into another as our internal clocks set by pre-COVID routines remain unwound during required quarantine; This pandemic is a silent, tumultuous blur. “Do Not Be Afraid, This is an Ad” is a meditative, freeform, exploration of our changing world as COVID continues to quite literally plague the entire human race. A digital animation then displayed on a converted cathode-ray tube television (an ode to a simpler time of no remotes and only three channels) the piece is a multimedia collage of free-associated images and found footage that draws allusions to both personal and societal responses to the global pandemic. “Do Not Be Afraid, This is an Ad” can also be displayed as a sculptural piece as the animation is designed to loop with the accompanying immersive ambient music. In many ways our response to COVID has been very similar to previous pandemics in history, however, our modern culture is built on the immediate propagation and consumption of information tapes our eyes open, forcing us to constantly witness the chaos around us. Our only escape from the whirlwind of unlimited channels is the ad breaks buffering the pandemonium; Distraction through media and marketing gives us a strange opportunity to escape reality, so when you’re viewing this piece do not be afraid, because it’s just an Ad.