Squid by Holly Whitaker
Squid released Bright Green Field earlier this month.
Squid have shared a video for their debut album track Pamphlets, directed by Raman Djafari.
“The video for Pamphlets is a meditation on the feeling of being unfit, unlovable, not compatible and the manic anxiety and stress that this results in,” Djafari notes.
“I wanted to explore a state of mind that I have found myself in many times, of fearing to go outside and being confronted with everything that one cannot love about themselves. Rooted in trauma that is as personal as it is always connected to society at large, harmful self-images are incredibly hard to escape.”
“The fear of being rejected for the ways one is marked as different and perceived as such, manifested in the presence and gaze of others, becomes the way we see ourselves. We internalize the rejection that we are subjected to.”
“As a result, there is the urge to hide away, suppress and judge whatever it is that we have been taught to hate. Thus detaching from the self and thereby detaching from others.”
“This is a video that relates to my own experiences as well as it is a solidarisation with everyone that has been made to feel this way.The second half of the video is about the emergence from that state of mind through the embrace of difference.”
“It is a process that I myself am still very much going through and learning from, so it is also a reminder and an exercise in empowerment. The transformation that happens when we learn to love ourselves is a detachment from the ideals of normativity.”
“Loving the difference, that which is perceived as ugly and rotten, is beautiful. At the same time it is an unlearning of the false truths that have been etched into our minds and hearts.”
