Close to me, a self-portrait addresses misconceptions and constructed images of what I am to resemble as an individual who is both Inupiaq and white. Composed of multiple tracks of my breathing during different parts of a day, I created a two-channel sound installation. The visuals are not provided in this intimate portrait in response to stereotypes.

This piece was inspired by Pierre Schaeffer’s idea of the “acousmatic.” Schaeffer was a French composer, acoustician, and electronic engineer. Schaeffer defined the acousmatic as: “Acousmatic, adjective: referring to a sound that one hears without seeing the causes behind it.”