Projects
- Would You?Link: https://wordpress.com/post/rachelgibsonweb.wordpress.com/1608 This is a stop motion animation exploring the themes of storytelling and depression. The set was made with painted cardboard and clay, and the figures were made with painted polystyrene and pipe-clean wires. The actual animation was filmed on an iPhone 6, a phot-r photography cube and a soft-box light in a dark-room. I used three apps for editing: stop-motion, iMovie and Splice and a video editing softwares: Premier pro and AVS. The process of bringing the animation to life involved intricately setting up each frame and taking a photo. The photos were put together into a type of slide show to give the illusion of movement. I used 5 frames per second, which gives the film a more jittery, homemade feel- intending to make the viewer unsettled. The animation is 3 minutes 5 seconds long, played on a loop. It is displayed on a 40-inch flat-screen TV in a dark room with an eerie soundscape of unsettling music and noises. The animation starts with my character watching a film (my previous animation I miss you) on her TV. She is scared by it, black paint- like in the film- starts to come down her chimney into her home; when she tries to run she ends up in a fairground, face-to-face with the monster she had been running from. She then falls into the first scene of I miss you and the animation loops. The monster- for me- represents depression, and the black paint sadness, however I wanted this to be interpreted by each individual viewer. The main concepts behind my work are storytelling and depression. My interest in this generates from a personal standpoint as well as an interest in human psychology. The way that an entire person can be compromised by an illness such as depression, has always fascinated me- and I wanted to portray it in a metaphorical, accessible way. Storytelling has always been a part of my nature, it can be a way to make sense of things as well as entertaining others. Stop motion I found to be an engaging way to tell a story within an art context. I also find the relationship between my idea and the process interesting because of their contrast. Essentially, this piece was made by me playing with dolls, a very childish innocent act- however I was playing out the very adult theme of mental illness. My main influence was Tim Burton although I had many. I have always admired his unique and twisted style and wanted to harness this. His stop-motion features are not only visually stunning, but they often explore themes of death and loss in a way that seems innocent; almost juvenile- which was the aim of my piece. For example, The Corpse Bride (2005) portrays the underworld as a vibrant place and the living world as a drab place; this way of exploring the concept of death and loss is much different to that I have seen before and I wanted to incorporate it into my own work. Other artists that influenced my making process include Jan Švankmajer, William Kentridge and Don Hertzfeldt. With the influence of these artists and the theme of depression, I have created a stimulating if not slightly disturbing, short stop motion animation. �
- i miss youLink: https://youtubeloop.net/watch?v=UhzltFFxrr0 My piece is a short stop-motion animation which explores the theme of depression. The set is made from hand-painted clay, the figures from pipe clean wires, polystyrene/ styrofoam, wool, buttons and fabric. For the filming I used an Iphone 5s, a 500wt floodlight, and a phot-r photography cube. I used two apps for editing (stop-motion and iMovie) and a video editing software (Premier pro). The process of bringing the animation to life involved intricately setting up each frame and taking a photo. Once all the photos were taken I put them together into a type of slide show to give the illusion of movement. I used 5 frames per second, which gives the film a more jittery, homemade feel- intending to make the viewer unsettled. The animation is 48 seconds long played on a loop. It is displayed on an older looking TV monitor, which stands on a dirtied sheet draped over a black plinth. The main concepts behind my work are grief and depression. My interest in this generates from a personal standpoint as well as an interest in human psychology. The way that an entire person can be compromised by an illness such as depression, has always fascinated me- and I wanted to portray it in a metaphorical, accessible way. I began working from my pre-drawn story board; but two scenes in, I just created the next scene that came into my head- which has connotations in itself (e.g. how chaotic depression really is). The animation contains two characters: a little boy and a monster. The monster represents depression; he is always there, and can sometimes even appear to be comforting, but ends up causing the little boy to drown in this blackness. I used the paint as a visual form of sadness, the boy tries to get rid of it but it is a part of him, and eventually he lets it take him. The graveyard was a suggestion that grief is a good place for depression to thrive; the boy represents you and I. My main influence was the film director Tim Burton. I have always admired his unique and twisted style and wanted to harness this. His stop-motion features are not only visually stunning, but they often explore themes of death and loss in a way that seems innocent; almost juvenile- which was the aim of my piece. For example, The Corpse Bride (2005) portrays the underworld as a vibrant place and the living world as a drab place; this way of exploring the concept of death and loss is much different to that I have seen before and I wanted to incorporate it into my own work. Other artists that influenced my making process include Jan Švankmajer, William Kentridge and Don Hertzfeldt. Another big influence was I miss you, a song by Blink 182. The lyrics to the song have always provoked strange images in my head- images that made a stimulating if not slightly disturbing animation.
- Eclipsed W0nderland's Designs: Tim Burton SeriesArt is something is deeply enjoy, and so is Tim Burton! These designs are for my shop, and unlike my other work, is designed to be liked. I am in love with these drawings and they were alot of fun to make. First and foremost (for me anyway) Art should be fun, a creatve outlet- and i think this is evident by these designs.
- 'Hey Moon (become the art)'In my work, I am interested in music culture and how this can be interpreted in an art context; specifically, how the emotions aroused by the music can be portrayed through art. The piece consists of two photographs: the first is me standing in front of a blank canvas wearing a plain white t-shirt, the second is the same photo but with a completed canvas and a painted shirt. The process of composing these photographs included: building an 80cm by 40cm canvas, mounting the canvas and taking the f
- Nature will find a wayIn my work, I am interested in the relationship between humans and nature, and how we relate to one another. The piece consists of a series of three small sculptures. The first of which is a decomposing skeleton, the second, a pair of human lungs resting on a tree, and the third, a human hand hanging from vines and holding a rose. The process of making these sculptures included foraging natural materials (tigs, vines), sculpting the ‘human’ parts of the sculptures out of air drying clay (The hand in the third sculpture required using alginate and plaster), painting them, taking them into a natural environment and photographing them. Being displayed in the gallery space is series of nine photographs of the sculptures. Land art is supposed to stay where it was originally made, and taking it out of nature and putting it in a gallery space would make it lose its purpose. Therefore I have decided to display my sculptures in a purely documented way. I have edited the photographs in a gritty way, to give them a serious, more resolute feel. I arranged them in a stair like formation to give the piece a better flow, and to make the viewer’s eyes travel the piece. The work symbolises how much power nature has over mankind. The skeleton is showing how we will all be claimed back to the earth one day. The lungs are demonstrating how trees are the reason we are breathing, and without them- we could not exist. The hand is representing the invisible hold that our environment has on us; clasping the rose shows our ungrateful dependence. At the start of this project I intended to make just one sculpture. In making the first one, I felt to develop the work further; there needed to be a small body of work. Also, my concept is all about the power of nature, and to have multiple sculptures, and a larger series of photographs, it will embody the mighty power of mother nature more effectively. My work is vastly influenced by the land art of Ana Mendieta. The way she combines nature and the human body intrigues me, is it a juxtaposition, is it the opposite? Humans have set themselves apart from nature, but why? Her work sparked many questions and ideas of my own. I find her work to be both meaningful and beautiful which I think a lot of art lacks. Her work is only accessible through documentation which I find interesting. The fact her work cannot be accessed by the public makes it seem more precious to me, you can look but cannot touch. I have adopted this into my own work. I see this method of documentation as saying, ‘nature doesn’t come to you, you go to nature’. I tried to use equal parts bought materials, and found natural materials. Combining the human and natural elements in a both physical and metaphorical sense. I wanted my sculptures to have a gritty earthy feel. I did this through the brown/green colour scheme and use of dirt and stones.
Work history
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FounderEclipsed W0nderland
Brentwood, United KingdomFreelance
I run a small business based on Etsy, selling my work as prints, badges and t-shirts. I manage all of the social media sites and all of the advertising as well as the financial side of it. It also helps me to keep growing and developing a an artist.
Skills
- Creativity
- Acrylic Painting
- Photography
- Stop Motion
- Illustration
- Articulate
- Driven
- Passionate
- Oil Painting
- Clay Sculpting
Education
N/A 2nd yearUniversity of Reading
Reading, United Kingdom
I am currently completing a Fine Art degree at the University of Reading (currently on a First). I have explored most mediums, and have recently been exploring the art of Stop Motion Animation.