The first idea Trey and I had for this film was to conduct an interview on the Spook-a-Rama ride at Coney Island. It felt like the perfect way to get inside his mind—surrounded by a cacophony of laughter, screaming, and illusion. Trey often says he wants his art to feel like a roller coaster: beautiful, thrilling, and tinged with unease, a reflection of the misery baked into the American Dream. That became a guiding metaphor for the film’s tone and structure. I wanted the viewer to be propelled through Trey’s world of wide-ranging inspirations, dropping into rabbit holes that lead to unexpected emotional depths.
Trey’s work is rooted in the very things he resented growing up in West Virginia, whether it was deer hunting with his dad or his mom’s “Live Laugh Love” decor. The film moves between his studio and the garish wonder of Coney Island, tracing how he transforms memory, misery, and Americana into something strange and deeply felt. It’s a film about more than just making art—it’s about reclaiming the past by smashing it to pieces and reshaping it into something all your own.
—Andrew Nadkarni
Director, “Trey Abdella’s Miserable Dream”
IMAGES: Production stills from the New York Close Up film, “Trey Abdella’s Miserable Dream.” © Art21, 2025.
