My Apology – Ho Ngoc Ha

2009

The idea for using neon lights came while sitting at a coffee shop, on a late evening, after a heavy rainfall. There was a quietness to the city and the neon lights from different shops and stores reflected themselves onto the almost onyx colored water puddles on the pavement. We saw this as an apology of some sorts… from a city to itself. And wanted to apply this electric, somber mood to the music video.

Light and reflection became an interesting metaphor for us. We remembered the influence of Dan Flavin, 1960’s and 70’s light-artist who used flourescents and neon lights as sculptural objects as seen in this reference image. It was the glow of the lights from his installations and the reflections onto the floors that connected us to the moment at the cafe. It was this reflectiveness that we wanted to apply to the video.