In her latest music video – ‘The Ocean’ – the award-winning singer-songwriter Wallis Bird uses the power of dance to tell the story of two young lovers, and the expansive universe their connection creates.
‘The Ocean’, which was directed by Irish filmmaker Sinéad McDevitt and choreographed by Yukino McHugh, sees Bird’s music brought to life through expressive movement and stunning visuals. The video stars McHugh and dancer Olivia Kingston in a representation of Bird and her own partner Tracey.
The video was released to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the introduction of marriage equality in Australia.
Wallis Bird spoke to Curve Magazine about the need for LGBT+ visibility in mainstream music:
“We made ‘The Ocean’ as a gift, in part, to our younger selves who struggled with our sexuality. Growing up in Ireland, we never saw same-sex love stories depicted on MTV and therefore never had access to powerful narratives that celebrated or represented the love stories that we could really relate to.”
Bird continued:
“We would love for this film to reach our LGBTQ+ family in the 72 countries where being gay is still illegal so we can try and shine a light on the darkness by giving a voice to the LGBTQ+ voiceless. In doing so, we’re showing that, while we’re divided by social, religious or cultural barriers, we’re all bound by our aspirations towards true love.”
Sinead McDevitt spoke about the mini-universe that unfurls between the lovers throughout the video:
“When Wallis first mentioned ‘The Ocean’ – a new devotional song to her partner Tracey – I prodded her on the inspiration behind it. ‘Looking at Tracey is like looking out on an ocean of planetary systems’ she mused. The image wouldn’t budge from my brain. I began to see the film play out in a mini-universe of magical realism; feeling both expansive and intimate.
“I felt there should be a gravitational pull of sorts, a dance between camera and lovers. Building in strength to a crescendo as their connection matures from fantasy into reality, darkness into light, fear into love.”
Check out the music video for ‘The Ocean’ here:
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