Blast

While rollerblading along the West Toronto Railpath, I encountered graffiti reading “BLAST” in bold, vibrant colors that struck me deeply, mirroring the explosive grief I experienced after losing my best friend, Chris, on April 18, 2024. His sudden death shattered my world, leaving me grappling with disorientation and emotional turbulence.

BLAST is an experimental, diaristic film shot with a 360 Ricoh camera. The camera’s omnidirectional capability freed me from traditional framing, allowing me to move and express myself more intuitively and cathartically. Filming in spaces tied to relational memories, I explored how love and presence persist even after loss, becoming boundless and ever-present.

This project became a way to visually represent the rupture of grief and the abstraction of time and space it creates. Through questions like, “Can a photograph convey invisible loss?” and “Can a camera connect me to an absent friend?” I navigated this deeply personal journey. BLAST revealed how film can bridge past, present, and future, serving as both a means of personal healing and a powerful medium for storytelling.