Untitled (Predisposition)

Untitled (Predisposition) is a multichannel video and sonic work that follows Bookhard’s process of navigating the unknowns of her mental illness. The piece addresses these complexities in the form of self-interview, spliced footage, recorded phone conversations with loved ones, and narrated excerpts from memoir-style essays. Factoring in her personal history of misdiagnosis and psychiatric malpractice, she works to excavate the daunting reality of self-mystery. The parenthetical title “Predisposition” calls upon both the medical term “genetic predisposition” used to describe the likelihood of one’s inheritance of a condition as well as the colloquial use of the word which refer to the reasoning behind one’s tendencies and actions. This title nods to the stories she shares in the auditory component of the piece, which are a reconciliation with how her illness has materialized throughout her life and the moments that have operated as both personal and medical crossroads. The piece at large reflects on the experience of feeling unknown to oneself and the anxiety of embarking on a journey without an explicit end in sight. 

Storm Bookhard, 2022.

USC Roski BFA Fine Art Thesis Film