DISSONANCE is an exploration into how quickly an impertinent exchange can result in catastrophe. All too often, petty arguments escalate to violence; a victim gets hit too hard, in the wrong spot, or too excessively, resulting in brain damage or even death. I became fascinated by how one internalizes such traumatic, accidental events. This notion of retaliation as honor is a shortsighted alpha phenomenon. Fight compilation videos spread like wildfire across the internet as entertainment; fighters beating each other senseless while spectators often act as instigators and recorders, rather than diffusors. Wading into the bullying epidemic plaguing today’s youth, social media can serve as an accelerated distribution platform affecting shame, embarrassment, or degradation, leading to unfathomable tragedies such as school shootings and live streamed suicides. The collision of opposing forces in DISSONANCE provides a crude glimpse into just how unfriendly a friendship can be.