selected images from “(Cathedral)” (2021), trailer
Project Statement:
(Cathedral) is an animated film that follows a procession of ants through a desert landscape from a first person point of view. A sequence of mysterious animated glyphs appear on a black void. The view suddenly shifts into a three-dimensional world, with objects from the void reappearing in solid form. A trail of ants leads the viewer from an interior dining table, out into a desert, traversing a labyrinthian canyon, and down the opening of an ant hill. The path home is traced back, revealing a ritual exchange of goods between the inner and outer world.
This process began with stream-of-consciousness ink-on-paper drawings, which were then animated through a frame-by-frame, straight ahead approach. These images and symbols were then recreated in Blender, a 3D modeling and animation program, and arranged in a digital desert landscape. Cameras move through this map and reveal a clockwork animatronic-like world. Through montage of the analog and digital animations, it becomes apparent that the amorphous, ephemeral images are connected with and directly influence the seemingly ordered physical realm. A soundscape was created through the complete distortion of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. The motif of the labyrinth is psychological and reminiscent of myths and fairytales, such as Theseus & the Minotaur and Hansel & Gretel, while the desert connects to first-hand memories of the American Southwest. The work reflects on the relationship between consciousness and dreams through the surface world and the subterranean.
Select Screenings
2024 – DarkRoom. Press Room, Alamo Drafthouse, New York, NY, US
2023 – GUI/GOOEY. Plexus Projects, Brooklyn, NY, US
2022 – Slamdance Film Festival. Park City, UT, US
2022 – Athens Animfest. Athens, GR
2022 – Tallgrass Film Festival. Wichita, KS, US
2022 – Utopia Interventions in Berlin Landscapes. Cooperativ Werkraum, Berlin, DE