06/16/2026
"leaving las vegas (attempted)"
magazine cut outs, 2026
the piece says "attempted" bc i really would like to make more art about the film "leaving las vegas" due to how personal it feels to me. but it is also very difficult to approach. it was a movie that was recommended to me by my ex after he saw it and said that he really saw himself in nicolas cage's character, ben. i have only ever seen it twice and i cried the entire way through both times bc it all felt so familiar. i have also read the book, which was extremely difficult for me to get through despite reading it over the course of a few days. many people find this piece funny, but a part of me feels sad when I witness those reactions bc I made this piece when I was sad. (and it's not a bad thing if it makes you laugh, it just wasn't my intention when I was making it!) then again, I often use humor to mask bad experiences or as a way to cope with them. in any case if you haven't seen the film I highly recommend it, despite it being so upsetting. I can also say that cage's performance in "leaving las vegas" is very real, he's not overacting. i hope one day to explore this film through art more bc it's hard such a deep effect on me. for now, i have this.