The way we are perceived by others is often of greater importance to us than who we are behind closed doors, so to speak; so much so that it can conflict with the meaning we find in life. Such is the subject matter of Jackie Mendoza’s (of Gingerlys) video for “Islands,” a track off a forthcoming EP due out this fall. The video, directed by Asa Westcott, shoots like a Terrence Malick film, infusing beautiful swooping, slow-motion shots of curious imagery with an ambiguous, yet metaphysical narrative. It centers around Mendoza, herself, readying herself for photoshoots, wandering hallways of faraway hotels, and seeing her image distributed on various screens, first in her own space, then on other people’s all over the world.
The song opens as the camera follows Mendoza down a hotel hallway, a pleasantly minimalist keyboard tip-toeing over a light, scattered beat. The vocals act, at least at first, as a calming grounding of the instruments, which build in swirling ambience, the visuals becoming simultaneously increasingly hectic and weighty as the song progresses. The video ends and it’s like if your life flashed before your eyes through a screen and you have to decide whether you like what you saw, and, more importantly, whether it matters to you more than to other people.
