Tea with Verasphere
Video and exhibit of a conversation over tea with artists Michael Johnstone and David Faulk about self expression.
Collaborators: Krystle Reynolds, Valerie Liu
Interviewing, Video Editing and Graphics, Exhibition Design
Michael and David have been costuming and photographing their lives since 1979 and still continue to do so to this day. Mrs. Vera. and Mr. Tina are characters that are created and portrayed by the couple. They also host workshops that encourage others to express themselves.
“Verasphere: 25 Years of Art & Love chronicles the world of Mrs. Vera, created by partners David Faulk (muse, model and costume designer) and Michael Johnstone (photographer). In photographs, fashion and Faulk's painted work, a glossy lowbrow pop art style the “Verasphere” is bright, chaotic and a bit nonsensical.
Mrs. Vera was born when both Faulk and Johnstone were diagnosed with HIV; she was a purposeful distraction from the disease. “When my eyesight was thrashed with CMV retinitis in both corneas, I took up the camera again for its immediacy,” says Johnstone. “I just wanted to take thousands of pictures of one life. I guess it is a bit obsessive but it was a deep response to the fact that so many lives had been lost [with] photos never taken.””
-Aine Henderson, Ever-Expanding 'Verasphere' Testifies to the Restorative Power of Creativity, KQED
Exhibit at the Hubbell Street Gallery