Everything, Unsaid.
Everything, Unsaid. illustrates the underlying grief, heartbreak, subtle violence, and deep loneliness that accompanies the beauty, whimsy, and unacknowledged strength of Asiatic femininity. Caro is heavily influenced by Anne Anlin Cheng's theoretical book Ornamentalism, which discusses the societal (and often sexual) violence that Asian women face in Western society. Ornamentalism highlights the way that Asian women are viewed/seen in a "lateral relationship to objecthood," and often referred to in relation to objects such as dolls, silks, vases, kimonos, carpets, and other such items.
The visual maximalism present in the film, Chinese garments, scarves, and other objects belonging to loved ones of Caro’s who have passed away charge the images and video with personal, quiet grief. This grief is otherwise overlooked in day-to-day life. Subtly influenced by the Japanese art of butoh, Everything, Unsaid. is a glimpse into an aestheticized and tender emotional breakdown, ending abruptly with the artist trying to escape through a vent.
Everything, Unsaid. is a video, photo, fashion, and styling collaboration between Dalia Janian and Caro Garofalo. Dalia shot and edited the photos and videos and pulled pieces from Caro's closet to create this work that Caro acted and modeled in. This work could not have been made without Dalia, whose vision guided the process and allowed Caro the space to focus on the performance and personal themes and research present within the piece.
Caro Garofalo
Caro Garofalo (she/they) is an artist, model, actor, butoh dancer and former art therapist who draws upon her Japanese, Chinese and Italian-American cultural identities and family histories in her work. Caro is from New York and currently resides in so-called “Vancouver.” She previously had an art therapy business, with her area of focus being in mental healthcare within the Asian Diaspora. Her work draws upon themes of cultural belonging and its struggles, family archives, gender identity, diaspora, and the grief that connects these phenomenons. Fashion, styling, and collaboration with other artists is a large component of her work, as her lived experience has shown her that most beautiful things require other humans, whether as audience or co-creators.
IG: Caro Garofalo @rice__angel | Dalia Janian @gur1sdru1e