Project timeline: 2022 · video publication year. Published as a retrospective on 23 October 2026.
Playa is my directing collaboration with Aadel Qrazy, published in 2022, with Arian Romal credited as producer and Nick&Dre for the music. I want it included in this look back because a body of work should show the different artists and creative relationships that helped shape it.
A different artist makes me reconsider the starting point. I do not want to bring a ready-made performance model into every collaboration. I want to notice how the person holds attention and what the track needs, then make the visual work specific enough that it belongs to them.
What the project asks of me
The useful questions begin with presence. How does the performer hold the camera's attention? What kind of distance makes that presence convincing? Where does the music invite a change in energy, and where would a change in the image be unnecessary? These questions make the work specific before it becomes elaborate.
I am interested in the distinction between an artist being visible and an artist being understood. A person can be placed at the centre of every frame without the viewer developing a sense of their identity. The direction needs to help the performance communicate, not simply make sure it has been covered.
There is also an important relationship between planning and responsiveness. A production needs enough clarity to move with purpose, but the director still has to notice what is happening in front of the camera. The most useful decision may be to stay with a performance that is working, rather than interrupt it to satisfy an idea that no longer feels necessary.
When the images are brought together, those choices begin to reveal whether they support a common attitude. A video can contain different settings and rhythms while still feeling recognisable. That continuity comes from an understanding of the artist and the music, not only from repeating a colour or a camera movement.
For me, Playa is part of that continuing practice. I want a recognisable commitment to the work without asking every project to resemble the last one. The connection between the videos should be the care in the direction, while the people and songs remain different.
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