I became interested in the perceptual phenomenon of pareidolia while I was researching the Black settlement of Nicodemus in Kansas (USA). For me, pareidolia was a question about conviction. Landlocked in the middle of the country, Nicodemus was deemed a refuge for Exodusters––Black people from the southern United States who fled violence and inequities following the Civil War (1861–1865). Two contradicting narratives about Nicodemus are difficult to hold at once: the lure of a potential utopia while also being exiled in one’s own homeland. Guided by memory, history, and rumor of a fabled Black utopia, I became preoccupied with how to undo the work of representing Nicodemus.
Like many instances, where hope is the guide, I rely on the wayfinding potential of abstraction. I want to complicate witnessing and consider the paradox of truth and vision. I want to rouse viewers through recollection, complicate critical listening, and honor the witness through obscurity. When can a film offer another mode of perception and protection?
Crystal Z Campbell
