MAP mima Summer Commission
PAST WORKS
It’s All Soup in the End
Commissioned by the City of Melbourne as part of the SIGNAL Screen Commissions.
What Remains
Commissioned by Maroondah Federation Estate as part of the Arts Activators Program.
The UFO
Commissioned by PhotoAccess for HYPERSPECTRAL.
PROPOSAL
Description
‘Shadow of a Doubt’ is a stop-motion animation that faces the futility of fixating on the inevitable by exploring death, absurdity and anxiety. Drawing upon the history of animation both materially and conceptually, each frame is hand-painted, exaggerating the plasticity and extremes of cartoon visual language through the liquidity of paint.
Inspired by the medieval fool archetype, this animation depicts a helpless cartoon figure desperate to escape their own shadow. Upon seeing a looming darkness, this character becomes increasingly anxious before running in frantic circles. This ridiculous figure’s finds relief only in falling - when their shadow finally disappears. Using the materiality of oil paint, this character’s messy demise unfolds with visceral textures and illogical narratives, drawing upon slapstick comedy.
The animation draws on key moments in animation history, referencing the zoetrope through its spinning, immersive structure; shadow puppetry and Lotte Reiniger’s fairytale films through its use of silhouettes; and the visual language of cartoons via expressive lines, distorted bodies, smear frames and rubber hose limbs.
The magic of animation will be emphasised by offering audiences a glimpse into the process, pausing on smear frames and revealing multiple frames at once. In particular, when the figure runs, they will be suspended mid-motion, with all the frames involved displayed across the space before wizzing off again, giving audiences the effect of being inside a zoetrope.
To expand the experience of the animation, I propose complementary ceramics and paintings in the foyer and Discovery Ports, and a second animation, It's All Soup in the End, installed in the Node.
Rather than shying away from death and increasing one's dread, this animation explores how reframing and accepting dying can be an antidote to anxiety.
Draft animation
Mockups
