Shoeshine Variation is the glorification of a dying art form. Dueling monitors compete for the viewer’s attention as both seasoned and a journeyman “shiner” work on a pair of shoes. Can beauty be found in a modest shoeshine? Shoeshine Variation is the video swan song for the Afro-American shoeshine. The performance is refined and grotesque.

There are two soundtracks. One monitor shows the passionate care in building a beautiful and rich shoeshine. The other gives a dreamlike glimpse of the aggressive and subversive deviance from the established norm. This narrative guides the viewer through the process of a shoeshine variation that drifts in and out of reality, asking the viewer to actually focus on the multiple interpretations of the act itself.