Short film ‘I’m too sad to tell you’ drink tea sadly and begin to cry
Postcard of me sadly crying. On back: ‘I’m too sad to tell you’
‘The space between us fills my heart with intolerable grief’
The thoughts of our inevitable and separate deaths fills my heart with intolerable grief. 

bas Jan Ader

In Halcion Sleep (1994), Rodney Graham’s new black and white video, the artist is seen dressed in stylishly striped satin pyjamas, sleeping deeply and blissfully laid out on the back seat of a mini-van. Through the soft glow of the rain-traced rear window, we can follow the path of the van as it travels endlessly down the avenues of Graham’s hometown. At face value, the chain of events seems uncomplicated: Graham downed a heavy dosage of the sleeping agent Halcion and, once under its spell, was transported from a motel on the outskirts of town to his home in the centre of the city. The continuous video loop was shot in a single take. The heaving of his limp body in and out of the mini-van (the trip’s beginning and end) are not included in the action; ‘travelling from the outer limits to the centre’ is the heart of this event.

RONALD JONES – Frieze Magazine