--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am all emptiness and futility. I am an…" description: "\"I am all emptiness and futility. I am an empty stranger, a carbon copy of my form. I can no longer find what I'm looking for outside of myself. It does..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/david-wojnarowicz-24572_cameras_i-am-all-emptiness-and-futility-i-am-an_1380798.jpg" --- # I am all emptiness and futility. I am an empty stranger, a… ![“I am all emptiness and futility. I am an empty stranger, a carbon copy of my form. I can no longer find what I'm looking for outside of myself. It doesn't exist out there. Maybe it's only in here, inside my head. But my head is glass and my eyes have stopped being cameras, the tape has run out and…” quote by David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/david-wojnarowicz-24572_cameras_i-am-all-emptiness-and-futility-i-am-an_1380798.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/david-wojnarowicz-24572_cameras_i-am-all-emptiness-and-futility-i-am-an_1380798.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/david-wojnarowicz-24572_cameras_i-am-all-emptiness-and-futility-i-am-an_1380798.jpg) > “I am all emptiness and futility. I am an empty stranger, a carbon copy of my form. I can no longer find what I'm looking for outside of myself. It doesn't exist out there. Maybe it's only in here, inside my head. But my head is glass and my eyes have stopped being cameras, the tape has run out and nobody's words can touch me.” [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lament of existential emptiness and the futility of seeking meaning externally, suggesting inner isolation and self‑reflection. **In simple terms:** Feeling empty and searching inside. Key Takeaway Look inward for meaning. Themes existential isolation self‑discovery Mood melancholy contemplative Type reflective poetic When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - personal meditation - philosophical counseling Key Concepts nihilism identity perception Questions to Reflect On - What inner resources can you cultivate? - How does recognizing emptiness change your actions? A Different Perspective External validation cannot fill inner voids. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) [Copies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copies/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Emptiness Futility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness-futility-4783050/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Futility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futility/) [Futility Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futility-stranger-4783051/) [Glasses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glasses/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Tape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tape/) [Touch me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touch-me/) ## Related quotes > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God makes originals not carbon copies. 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Anyone trying to do that would be a second-rate carbon copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-fairbanks-jr/i-never-tried-to-emulate-my-father-anyone-trying-to-do-that-would-be/) [Douglas Fairbanks, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-fairbanks-jr/) > [I'd started doing fanzines from the age of nine. I'd been doing as many copies as you can get carbon paper into an upright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moorcock/i-d-started-doing-fanzines-from-the-age-of-nine-i-d-been-doing-as/) [Michael Moorcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moorcock/) > [Workers are not going to be fobbed off with a few shares...or by a carbon copy of the German system of co-determination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/workers-are-not-going-to-be-fobbed-off-with-a-few-shares-or-by-a/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [That beautiful sister of mine was an overwhelming and volatile mixture. One had the feeling that she'd been shot from a canon and showered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-bennett/that-beautiful-sister-of-mine-was-an-overwhelming-and-volatile/) [Joan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-bennett/) > [Do not, under any circumstances, belittle a work of fiction by trying to turn it into a carbon copy of real life; what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/do-not-under-any-circumstances-belittle-a-work-of-fiction-by-trying/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [I pattern my actions and life after what I want. No two people are alike. You might admire attributes in others, but use these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-chamberlain/i-pattern-my-actions-and-life-after-what-i-want-no-two-people-are/) [Richard Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-chamberlain/) ## More by David Wojnarowicz > [Feeling animalistic. Feeling Hyena. Feeling Wolf. Feeling Dog. I am tongue and heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/feeling-animalistic-feeling-hyena-feeling-wolf-feeling-dog-i-am/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [“Hell is a place on earth. 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Destination means death to me. If I could figure out a way to remain forever in transition, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/transition-is-always-a-relief-destination-means-death-to-me-if-i/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [History is made and preserved by and for particular classes of people. A camera in some hands can preserve an alternate history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/history-is-made-and-preserved-by-and-for-particular-classes-of-people/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [“I felt that blush in my chest as we talked stupid talk never quite revealing our queerness to each other but somehow wordlessly generating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/i-felt-that-blush-in-my-chest-as-we-talked-stupid-talk-never-quite/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [“There is a tendency for people affected by this epidemic to police each other or prescribe what the most important gestures would be for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/there-is-a-tendency-for-people-affected-by-this-epidemic-to-police/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [“I remembered a friend of mine dying from AIDS, and while he was visiting his family on the coast for the last time, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/i-remembered-a-friend-of-mine-dying-from-aids-and-while-he-was/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [“I'm looking for a path out of the emptiness but all I see is the great wide earth in various formations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/i-m-looking-for-a-path-out-of-the-emptiness-but-all-i-see-is-the/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [No one can really explain in a rational way what makes a good photograph or a bad photograph... This is why the art world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/no-one-can-really-explain-in-a-rational-way-what-makes-a-good/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [“With all these occurrences of death facing me, I thought about issues of freedom. If government projects the idea that we, as people inhabiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/with-all-these-occurrences-of-death-facing-me-i-thought-about-issues/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [“Sometimes I come to hate people because they can’t see where I am. I’ve gone empty, completely empty and all they see is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/sometimes-i-come-to-hate-people-because-they-can-t-see-where-i-am-i/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [“I lean back and tilt my head so all I see are the clouds in the sky. I'm looking back inside my head with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/i-lean-back-and-tilt-my-head-so-all-i-see-are-the-clouds-in-the-sky-i/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) [Explore all 24 David Wojnarowicz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) ## More Cameras quotes > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I'm a film guy. I love it. When I read the screenplay, I knew that there would be no HD camera that could achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-taylor/i-m-a-film-guy-i-love-it-when-i-read-the-screenplay-i-knew-that-there/) [Deon Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deon-taylor/) > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I can look around a room and tell you if there are hidden cameras or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ash/i-can-look-around-a-room-and-tell-you-if-there-are-hidden-cameras-or/) [Lauren Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ash/) > [There's nothing like the energy in a small comedy club room or a small theater when it's going really well. 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