In Rock–Paper–Scissors I use 22 objects to tell and re-tell the story of 50 years of my father’s life from birth till 1985 when he quit his job as a computer programmer for Grumman Aerospace Corporation. Each object- photographs, a needlepoint, a text book, an IBM ruler, a cassette tape, a CD, a school ID and a parting gift from his department at Grumman- represents a moment in time, a life decision or a traumatic event. I assigned roles to the items, ordered and re-ordered, eliminating certain circumstances or experiences, in an attempt to change my father’s history and create a story with a different ending.
This is recorded in a two-hour looping HD video floor projection, and presented with the five drawings made during this process. Each object is placed strategically and traced with a pencil. The drawn outlines serve as stand-ins for the objects and I omit certain items by crossing them out.
TWO-HOUR LOOPING VIDEO PROJECTION AND FIVE DRAWINGS