Ask to Be Remembered, Plead to Be Forgiven

"Ask to Be Forgiven, Plead to Be Remembered" is a three-part video series that delves into the cultural landscape of Midwest evangelicalism and draws on personal experience growing up queer in the Midwest. The series unfolds as a confusing montage of past events, told through an omniscient, voyeuristic lens. Set in a dystopian world nearly identical to ours, the narrative invites viewers to piece together abstract visuals, fostering this sense of voyeurism as they watch the videos. In the second video, viewers statically join characters at a formal dining table, creating a sense of displacement. The series concludes with a clear sequence that unveils lingering questions. Viewers are asked to apply the series' themes of growth, self-empowerment, and shedding old identities to their own lives. This immersive experience intentionally unsettles, casting the viewer as a voyeur witnessing something they shouldn't—a theme that persists throughout the entire narrative. "Ask to Be Forgiven, Plead to Be Remembered” evokes viewers to question how they came to witness the series’ clandestine or even blasphemous content. The series is not just a cinematic chronology—it's an invitation to query, reflect, and carry the uncanny thematics into our realities.

The below photographs were shot between a Mamiya c220 and Holga on 120 film. "The Altar" photographs were shot on DSLR.

Special thanks to the following artists and collaborators who made this series happen (in order alphabetically): Olivia Bacon, Novalí Centellas, Desiree, Aidan Francis, Gretch, Emma Hodgman, Heather, Daph Jackson, Caralyn Jellison, Skylar Speedwell, Gracie Thomas, and Joe Velick.