Sunshine State is a two-channel video projection shown on both sides of two screens. Conceived as an immersive experience, the work features a continuous sequence of images and oral narrations that cyclically expand throughout the duration of the piece. The specular structure of the display is reinforced by the inversion of black and white in the film.
The work opens with footage of the burning sun. As the images unfold, we hear the artist whispering ‘Shine on me Sunshine State, shine on me’, superimposed onto the sound of the combustion of the sun. While the frame slowly dissolves into a new image, we hear the artist’s voice again as he recounts a story about his father, accompanied by footage from the musical drama The Jazz Singer (1927). The first movie or ‘talkie’ in the history of cinema to include synchronised dialogue, the film stars the famous singer Al Jolson (1886–1950). We observe the protagonist as he prepares to perform on Broadway. McQueen emphasises the scenes in which we see Jolson applying black paint on his face by alternating footage played forward and backward and by juxtaposing the images from positive to negative. Through this approach, the artist morphs the figure into an almost invisible and ghostly presence.