Genres: Animation
-
Inventory
Often the very things that appear to enable a sense of security, stability, and status can be disrupted, or rendered obsolete, destined to become a memory, or simply just forgotten. On the other hand, things that frame our passions while informing our dreams have the very real potential of retaining their meaning, regardless of any actual or imagined externalities. Before leaving home last July to begin an artist residency I went to pick up a couple of things at a nearby big box store only to discover that it had been closed. A crew was removing all the signs on…
-
Velocity
I generally gravitate towards places that reveal the many layers of time when deciding on a particular location to set up my camera and tripod. This is when I like to imagine worlds that have passed, worlds that are present, and worlds that are yet to be. In 2009 Johan Rockström led the team which developed the “Planetary Boundaries Framework,” a set of 9 boundaries that they define as a “safe operating space for humanity.” These scientists assert that once certain thresholds or tipping points are passed there is a risk of “irreversible and abrupt environmental change.” In 1976 a…
-
Utopia
The purpose of this or that, or its role in enabling a sense of security or status is ephemeral, depending on factors that may or may not be readily apparent. As systems shift from one emphasis to an other, or as one system supplants an other, the meaning of something can be altered to such a degree that a new description may be required to understand its context. Various intersections in downtown Vancouver including the Trump Tower looming over the other buildings – Fishing Boat approaches Ucluelet after some time out at sea – Afternoon clouds, Crowsnest Mountain – Lonely…
-
The House
For one curler, it’s not just a regular night at the local curling rink. Can she face her fears and find the strength to throw her final rock?
-
Outcognito
Fear meets gay desire against an audio background of sitcom homophobia and jarring personal testimonies. Textured layers of figures, rotoscoped and real, move in and out of difficult scenarios, resolving into knowing acceptance.
-
First Dispatch from Atlantis
An animated journey through the lands of the dead. Using collage and multiple exposure, “First Dispatch …” creates a dryly humorous but subtly menacing environment, with references to ancient civilizations, religion, and war. Related to the work of Max Ernst, Joseph Cornell, and Larry Jordan.
-
Blue Cigarette
When filming smoke, in color, cinematographers must avoid the “blue smoke” phenomenon. “Blue Cigarette” is a direct cinema experience on 16mm film, it takes the same time of a cigarette burning and is filled with cigarette burns. The strip was tortured, scratched, punctured, erased, colored, and animated: an exploration on the volatility of the film medium, as if it was itself a cigarette and one could smoke it all the way.
-
Flash Flood
Deep within a dream, a cataclysmic flood washes over the planet, and reveals three unique perspectives on gender and identity. The film is animated by volunteer transgender artists and animators from across the globe.
-
Bobbi and Sheelagh
Bobbi meets a mythological creature whose ancient battle for acceptance helps Bobbi overcome her own fears of being herself – a young lesbian. This animated short has been created in a traditional method with thousands of hand painted cells and pencil crayon backgrounds. Featuring Canadian actor Nisha Ahuja and Irish actor Mel Bradley.
-
Twilight
Exploring the relationship between sound and picture, this film is inspired by the two lights (twi-light) found inside of film projectors. The animation was created by applying both sound and picture directly onto 35mm film. After the soundtrack was created, each individual sound was assigned a specific shape and colour that repeats throughout the composition. Visual shapes were airbrushed and hand-painted onto orange mask (negative film), then printed positive for further manipulation by bleaching or scratching into the film’s emulsion before the final print copy was made. Sounds were made by drawing Spirograph moire patterns onto clear mylar sheets. The…
