Descending Notes (2022) is a collaborative performance film that explores transness as a form of dissonance and resonance. It takes inspiration from Donny Hathaway’s heartfelt rendition of “A Song for You”, in which a discordant progression of piano notes punctuates the lyrics: “If my words don’t come together, listen to the melody ‘cause my love is in there hiding… I love you in a place where there's no space or time.” Written and performed in collaboration with artists Ada M. Patterson and Raffia Li, the film is a love story between three “transing beings” whose desire unfolds across time and space, from early Christian mysticism to future alien intimacies, while being grounded in actual experiences of tenderness, solidarity and grief within Sainsbury’s friendships and everyday life.
