Kelly Mark was a Toronto-based conceptual artist whose diverse practice revealed the absurdity and poetry of mundane acts and daily rituals. I Really belongs to one of her most iterative works, reimagined across media since the late 1990s. The original piece, I Really Should, was a stream-of-consciousness list of tasks the artist had long contemplated—“pay back my student loan,” “drink more water,” “clean out the litter box.” Over time, it morphed into a video monologue, handwritten refrigerator notes, a CD multiple, and a sound installation.

In 2010, Amsterdam DJ and music producer Sandrien approached Mark to overlay the recording onto a techno track, which she agreed to. Unexpectedly, the song became a European hit that summer. The collaboration brought conceptual art into the clubs, turning procrastination and self-improvement into both mental and physical movement. Mark was interested in how these tendencies were not only personal but part of a shared human condition. This work now also serves as an eccentric reminder of Mark—an artist who showed us, with openness and humour, how to take ourselves and what life offers just seriously enough.

This piece is courtesy the artists, Intacto Records, and Vtape.