“Manifest Destiny; of Joy and Terror” is a video composition by the artist Y. Malik Jalal. The work is comprised of found material, a second hand ‘Twisters!’ VHS, a Barry White, Quiet Storm radio recording, found stickers and other images. The atmosphere of a sensual refuge that The Barry White recording conjures is where the artist and audience reside within the work. The American Midwest is the residence of the Tornado and seemingly the sole target of its indignation. This landscape, its occupants, the destruction, panic, and pleasure, are all the subject of the work; symbolizing a faith in the inevitable and the possibility of having the privilege of being witness to the inevitable. Jalal also employs still images, cut out and collaged on top the footage. This familiar cast of characters ties his first venture into the medium of film directly and firmly back to what he is doing within rest of his practice. The images used add another dimension; a looser more ludic axis. This, Barry White, and this corn fed natural disaster all exist in a sphere that is at the center of Y. Malik Jalal’s interest. Jalal describes the work as “simply a picture”, a picture of joy and terror, a black picture, an american picture.