The United States government exploits young lives, utilizing them as fuel for endless cycles of war. Cornered is a direct commentary of this reality and how a militaristic system harms vulnerable youth.

This two-channel video installation juxtaposes two realities: on one side, students celebrate their graduation, a moment meant to signify freedom and opportunity. On the other side, war rages: gunfire, explosions, and violent consequences of the system that sacrifices its own people for military dominance.

Projected into a corner of a space, the piece forces viewers into a position of entrapment, mirroring the way young Americans face the consequences of the military with the ability to escape.

The U.S. government does not value the lives of its citizens, it values its military, funding war over education and dominance rather than domestic growth.

The young are shaped by the actions of militaristic leadership leaving young adults to become soldiers or civilian casualties of wars they were forced to fight. Cornered makes this reality impossible to escape. As the sounds of celebration bleed into the sounds of death, the illusion of freedom is dismantled.

Best experienced with sound.