Witnessing the Unseen Life of Art: A Documentary Project
I’m excited to share a new documentary project that dives deeply into my journey as an artist, how I create, the ideas that shape my work, and the transformative role art continues to play in my life.
What began as an attempt to record my story that words failed to capture, despite a PhD in Creative Writing, has grown into a living, evolving film. It traces the emotional, intellectual, and tactile realities alongside making art in a way that language alone couldn't convey.
The project is produced in collaboration with director and video editor, Ben Hall, with filming guided by Scott Ross and Samuel Galloway. Together, we have been capturing the quiet, often unseen moments inside the studio: the gestures that happen without thinking, the textures that emerge from instinct, the experiments that seem to fail before they unexpectedly succeed, and the subtle decisions that slowly give form to an idea.
These are the moments that rarely make it into public view, yet they are where the real work, the real life, of art and us unfolds.
A core element of the documentary is its spontaneity. Alongside longer interviews, we capture “upsots”, brief, unplanned fragments of studio life. Sometimes they are reflections, sometimes they are emotional pivots, sometimes they are simply the trace of a hand moving across a surface. But each one reveals something essential about how creativity actually happens: in flashes, through feeling, in conversation with uncertainty.
These pieces of footage sit alongside my broader professional practice and the projects that Romulus Folio Gallery is part of. Together, they create a layered portrait of what it means to build a creative life, not only the artworks themselves, but the ecosystem of relationships, ideas, risks, challenges and commitments that surround them. Through this lens, art becomes more than a personal pursuit but a collective way of life; it becomes a bridge. A bridge to connection, renewal, and growth.
At its heart and very depths, this documentary acknowledges a story of resilience and the life-affirming power of creation. Making art has been my through line, a way to claim agency, and visually speak emotional depth. Adverse formative experiences that have a domino effect of impacts and neurodivergence shape my point of view, but they do not limit it. Rather they expand it. Art is where I know endless possibility.
This film invites audiences to witness not just what I create, but how I create it, why each project becomes a meaningful point of obsession, and where the life in art journey is heading. And like any true journey, it moves forward most powerfully when it’s not travelled alone.
We are now in the final stages of filming and editing and expect completion very soon.
Stay Tuned for Updates!
Scott Ross | Angelina Mirabito | Ben Hall October 2025 Planning Meeting