Harriet Kennedy

Stop Motion Animation

I am a stop motion animator studying BA (Hons) Animation at Bristol UWE.I started off studying Fine Art at degree level, which allowed me to work creatively without boundaries but found that the lack of structure left me without a disci-pline. Through an exploring animation module lead in the second year I changed to become a permanent student in animation. I work within the stop motion process, explor-ing abstract narratives and character design mixed with collage and cut out.

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With a background in Fine Art and Photography I am currently studying Animation in my 3rd year at Bristol UWE. I specialise in stop motion animation, involving collage, cut out and found objects to convey minimal narratives with intricate designs.

I started my degree in Fine Art focusing mainly on pho-tography and cast- ing objects in particular parts of the human body in plaster and wax, I was interested in themes of distopia and human identity.

With a very basic knowledge of film making I produced some slow motion films and some rotscoped experiments which then lead me to explore stop motion animation. In my second year of studying Fine Art I enrolled on the pathways module in animation where I discovered my passion for stop motion animation.I have been able to expand my creativity and skills in story telling by adopting a different approach to my art practice.

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I Don’t Know What I Want To SayMay 2011

I don’t know what I want to say is a stopmotion animation made using various objects and materials. It translates a text by artist Martin Creed, (I don’t know what I want to say) into an animation depicting the frustration and con-fusion one can feel when trying to communicate as well as representations of the thought process.

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WunderkammerMay 2012

Wunderkammer’ is my latest project in which I created a triptych of animations all inspired by the process of breathing. Breathing is a process that involuntarily reveals the internal systems that characterise a person at a certain moment. On one hand, these are based on necessary, physiological processes, on the other hand, they represent our emotional, physical state.

The titles for the three animations are;

You Take My Breath AwayAngles can Fly Because They Take Themsleves LightlyGet Out

Wunderkammer

A triptych of stop motion animations by Harriet KennedyRunning time 2 minutes 30 seconds

Breathing is a process that involuntarily reveals the internal sysyems that characterise a person at a certain moment

cargocollective.com/harrietskye

You Take My Breath AwayMay 2012

There is no structured narrative the animation simply revolves around the sound of breathing with leaves of a tree being pulled back and forth with the breaths. But-terflies represent the connotation of having ‘butterflies in ones stomach’ as the whole piece is representing a physical response to emotion.

Angels Can Fly Because They Take Themselves LightlyMay 2012

This project is based on a quote “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly” by G.K Chesterton. I have experimented throughout the year with different ways of representing this quote in animation before I combined ideas with the laughing birds. The animation is simply birds flying across a sky background with the sound effects of laughter. It’s a light hearted piece which hopefully will make the audience laugh.

GET OUT

Get Out is the third animation I have made in my final year. It is inspired by the work of Bruce Nauman and consists of a ribcage made of wire, paper mache and ink, opening to reveal text ‘Get out of my mind’ and ‘Get out of this room’ being crumpled up and then out again to the sound of heart beating. This is all to reflect a physical response to the words and how one would feel when saying or feeling what the text says. I wanted the text to be slightly hard to read as the scrumpling and unscrum-pling is repeated so through out the animation the meaning of it will become clear making it slightly unnerving.

I feel passionate about the stop motion process as I like to be hands on with my work and be able to structure narratives from abstract as well as everyday objects. I have been interested in stop motion animations for many years and even before joining the animation course at UWE I involved a lot of it in my fine art practice and am fascinated at what can be achieved through the process. I am an avid fan of the work by the Brothers Quay and admire their style and approach to stop motion; they are a big inspiration in my own work.

My long term goal is to continue education on to an MA in animation. This would allow me to further develop my style and storytelling tech-nique as well as gaining more knowledge in the stop motion process. I aim to apply by the winter of 2012 to start an MA the following year.

I am currently volunteering with various art galleries and animation companies to gain insight into the opportunities for post grads and what I could do after university. I have been helping to run and setting up animation workshops for children at festivals and art events, this is something I will be progressing with once I have graduated.

Harriet Skye Kennedy

harriet-k@hotmail.comcargocollective.com/harrietskye