During the pandemic, we meet weekly on Zoom to draw each other. The act of drawing requires careful watching. Each stroke mimics the sense of touch in our disembodied state. Zoom gives us the permission to peer into each others’ personal space where we show each other and create each other. 

Can you hear me now? is a montage of my relationship with Amy in our senior year. We meet weekly on Zoom to draw each other on our iPads. Due to the pandemic, Amy lives at home in Shanghai, and I live in Boston.

The video illustrates the experience of growing closer to another despite a physical distance. We see each other the size of the laptop screen, we show one another the size of the laptop screen. With the absence of touch, we draw each other, creating receipts of our relationship, acknowledging the other and verifying each others’ space. The act of drawing requires careful watching, a cautious exploration, and each stroke mimics the sense of touch in our disembodied state.

Bound by the size of our screen, we adapt and bond through our weekly calls. Zoom gives us the permission to peer into each others’ personal spaces, and I create Amy’s home on my iPad. Week after week my strokes become more defined with my growing understanding of Amy. I show Amy different views of my room, of my apartment, of myself. We laugh, we stress out, we feel supported, grow comfortable with each other.

The montage packages the intricacies of our interactions. We show each other, we create each other. It leads the viewer into growing intimacy as we figure out how to represent each other.