My portrait video is called The Black Dog. The video was shot by Keith Deverell at Kingston beach. I wanted to shoot it there because it’s close to where I live. The music is by JR Brennan.

The Black Dog is the name for a character that is a part of me - if you wanted to say depression, you could, but that’s not all. Sometimes it’s the spirit inside of me that is about being peaceful and then I can just dance, and dance and dance!

Making The Black Dog was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s about me. It’s about who I am.

The dancing - I prefer the word movement - the movement is me! It’s my personal style.

People love to see me move, because I can show them what it’s like to be free.

A large square vinyl banner is suspended from the ceiling. It features two large portraits of William. In the background is William’s head and shoulders all in black and in the foreground is William’s face lit up with eyes closed, expressive face, with his left hand palm outstretched facing the viewer, next to his head. On the bottom right hand corner of the poster is text that reads Do you see me? In front of the poster are four vintage suitcases stacked on top of one another, a large blue suitcase on the bottom, then a red suitcase followed by a brown suitcase. On the very top is a smaller slim projector case and inside the projector case Is a video called The Black Dog. 

The BLACK DOG video description:

The film opens with a close up of William, a proud man, standing on Kingston beach with eucalyptus gums and coastal scrub behind him.

He is wearing a black hat, black buttoned up shirt over a black T-shirt and black jeans and his trusty black pouch slung over his shoulder. He has a cheeky smile as he asks “Do you see me?”

We move to a wider landscape shot with three images of William moving amongst a fallen gum tree and sifting sand through his fingers. He asks again “Do you see me?”

Instrumental music supports his movement against a backdrop of coastal cliffs of burnt orange and sandstone. He swings his arms like a propeller blade and then raises them high above his head as if soaring over the cliff. He whispers to the wind “I am on the outside as I am pressed so hard against the earth”. The final image is of William standing with his arm around some driftwood, a modern warrior.