(MISS)remember is a commissioned work by Oswald Huỳnh for Saxophone and Fixed Video. The work premiered as part of the senior recital for Leo Schlaifer at Northwestern University.

 

The video explores the feelings of nostalgia and grief through re-appropriation of public domain home video. the distorted imagery works to invoke a sense of djeja vu.

The footage is intimate home video of random lives, yet your brain seeks to connect these worlds together.

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From Oswald:

"In the Vietnamese language, ‘to miss someone’ and ‘to remember someone’ are compartmentalized into one word: nhớ. For example, if my aunt from Vietnam asked me, “Con có nhớ cô không?,” that could be interpreted as both “Do you miss me?” or “Do you remember me?” in English. That begs the question: am I missing someone more than I actually remember them? Perhaps they are one in the same. Memory can be volatile, and the feeling of nostalgia can often overpower the actual memory. Is the feeling more important than the event itself? My piece (miss)remember for tenor saxophone and video will explore these concepts and questions."