In my art, I usually focus on what feels right rather than what is planned. It tends to be introspective, drawn from experiences of anxiety, loss, relationships in both the present and past, and the ways in which these things change over time. I hope to express the energy of these transformations in my animations, which are hand-drawn and have the quality of constant visual motion. They’re simultaneously chaotic in their construction and orderly in the structure of relationships that emerges between the looping elements of each scene. In Platform (2019), looping icons including mouse pointers, loading bars, and emoticons float in the foreground of each scene, both distracting the viewer and creating new associations between the different layers of images.

In Three Portraits (2019), a piece juxtaposing a mixed-media painting and a screen-based animation, this layering of images is literally represented through the repetition of drawn frames and figurative elements. Splotches of ink and a loosely painted rectangular frame served as starting points for a portrait containing vague facial features which blur into the background and into each other. The accompanying animation emphasizes the repeated visual qualities of the painting as a means of visualizing the different ways in which we present ourselves to the world.

For my terminal project, Rendezvous (2020), I wanted to continue exploring the intersection of digital and traditional media from Three Portraits as a way of emphasizing relationships between different figures and forces. Through a shifting series of animated vignettes from different perspectives and different points in time, these elements interact to create an image of an evolving landscape.

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