SINK, a video by Nishat Farhana, creatively portrays generational trauma by compiling sound and image into patterns of addition and reduction. Farhana represents the cleansing of generational trauma in a curious yet obvious way: hand-washing. Through the symbolic repetition of hand-washing, Farhana prompts the viewer to be both introspective and outwardly-reflective all at once. Framed with a minimal scene, and an isolated gesture, SINK’s straightforward visuals yield rich layers of symbolic meaning. SINK suggests both the video’s setting—the sink at which the action unfolds—and the video’s symbolic associations—the feeling that one is sinking under the weight of something irremediable. Farhana implies that attempting to wash oneself clean from the past may or may not be possible. For example, at times, the gestures of washing away seem instead to result in further accumulation. As the video progresses, more and stranger substances mysteriously appear and also must be cleansed from the hands. Yet at other times, the hands seem clean and ready to cease their constant washing. The process of recovery from trauma is non-linear. Yet the desperation and struggle are devastatingly beautiful.