FEEL YOURSELF BREATHE // 15 Jun 2022

About 6 months ago I was in my final year of college. Distracted, stuck. It wasn’t where I wanted to be. After waking up I would feel sick, and every day by noon I would develop a minor headache. I struggled with my appetite, often finding myself unable to eat breakfast or lunch without experiencing a gag reflex. But most days, I still managed to convince myself that I was happy. In truth, the body keeps the score.

‘FEEL YOURSELF BREATHE’ was born out of this mental state, time, and place. Outside of obligations and school, I would spend my time in solitude and observation. Soaking in the world around me, I was teaching myself to appreciate my surroundings, and by extension, my own place among them.

As I write this, I am around 5 weeks graduated, and over 4,000 miles from my college apartment. The whole 6+ months I was piecing together this video, I thought I would have it done within the next couple weeks. Even to the day I graduated, I thought I’d have it finished in a matter of days. But it was two weeks later, the night before I flew across the Atlantic to experience a new life, that it all finally clicked.

This is a self portrait, a journal of mental state, and an appreciation of the beauty that is always around, whether you feel it in the moment or not.

- Henry