VULGAR BATH (2025)

Project:
Vulgar Bath highlights the way we process our own grief, and the avoidant uncomfortability we react with when faced with the grief of others. By using grotesque imagery to illustrate the different stages of grief and invoking the discomfort of emotional pain and healing, the piece turns discomfort into a meditation on understanding. The strange and repulsive becomes comforting as societal niceties are stripped away in a journey toward emotional growth.

Created in collaboration with artist Hannah Romell, Vulgar Bath was co-conceptualized and technically realized by Hank Ball. Hank served as the Director of Photography, capturing the project in both 16mm analog film and digital video. This intentional blend of media served to mirror the thematic tension between past and present—underscoring how nostalgia operates as a form of grief in itself.

In addition to cinematography, Hank developed an interactive phone booth using node-based programming. This installation element recorded visitors’ reflections and wove them into the space, creating a living, evolving dialogue on grief. He also contributed to the creation of the immersive audio bath, and led the editing process for the final film, shaping the emotional rhythm and tone of the piece.

Analog media combined with digital software align with the project’s core belief: that embracing the past, rather than running from it, is essential to growth. Vulgar Bath acknowledges the power of nostalgia and positions it as a means to better understand grief, not as a burden, but as a necessary and even beautiful part of the human experience.

Camera / Software:

Canon R6 Mark II, Dehancer, Adobe Suite, Davinci Resolve, Max MSP, Abelton