Using voicemails from the deceased, this experimental short examines our finite human existence through fleeting moments and an appreciation for our limited time.
Installation Documentation Video
14 names. 14 voicemails.
Peggy Arnold, 1947-2011
Caitlin Berg, 1988-2019
Annette Conyers, 1954-2015
Sandra Crowder Daughtry, 1955-2021
Eric Duncan, 1944-2014
Diane Green, 1933-2007
Sonny Grizzard, 1938-2019
Edward Haley, Jr. 1945-2022
Doris Halfacre, 1955-2020
Frosty Houser, 1960-2015
Richard Robertson, 1950-2021
Dwayne Welborn, 1961-2016
Connie Lou Wise, 1932-2020
Bob Woodruff, 1940-2018
My father died when I was 22, and the only substantial bit of media I have to remember him by are his voicemails.
In seeking a way to grapple with life's biggest existential questions, I found the best way to see and appreciate our finite existence was through death itself. In listening to voicemails from the deceased, we romanticize the simplicity and sound within each voice, listening intently to inflection and intention.
This film utilizes lo-res super 8mm and VHS footage, some found and some recorded by me, to reflect the nostalgia in media and how its texture mirrors that of our own memories.
Voicemail is a graduate thesis project from UNCW designed to make us think about our own motives and openness to life and those around us... before it's too late.
The beauty in life is in sharing it with others.
Who do you call?
Pick up the phone.
Dial your loved one’s number.
Share your love and appreciation while you still can.
Repeat.
And/Or leave us a voicemail to save for you at
(910) 338-9476.