Self-Portraits

Directed by Bobby Abate

In 1993-1994, when I was in art school, I felt like an outsider amongst outsiders.  I was queer, but there were so few out queer people around me.  I felt like I had no identity, so I started to obsessively do a numbered series of self portrait sketches in black pen to explore different personalities and aspects of myself.  They range from fantastical to completely absurd.  At some point, I started to dress up at these characters film myself using my family's old Sears VHS camera that I rescued from the garbage.