This piece is a reinterpretation of the story of King Midas and is featured in my Fairytale Portfolio. King Midas is the story of a man so overcome by his desire for gold and wealth that he loses sight of the value of the things that truly matter, such as his health and his daughter. This film is a study of how aspects of King Midas’s story are active in today’s society. The man in the video is overwhelmed by his desire and obsession with the material, a statement of how unnecessary things such as phones and televisions have become such a centerpiece in society that they are now essential. The greed and obsession overcome him like a poison, as seen through the dripping gold. The color filters blend everything to portray how the man is unable to distinguish his material obsessions from the rest of the world nor recognize his greed.
I was given access to an empty room at my friends' house. By covering all of the windows with black plastic bags, I was able to control the light levels in the room using multiple low-light lamps. A tarp was laid across the floor for any paint. An old broken television and stereo were gifted to me to be symbols of the inessential obsessions. By using gold paint, I was able to create a creeping, corruption-like effect as it oozes over the man’s body. Color-filter lenses created a mix of blues, purples, and oranges. I filmed sequences then edited them together, finding a non-copyrighted, free-use song that seemed to fit the mood of the film.