2018-19
nomadic
dance
animated
short film
(3 minutes)
nomadic
dance
2019 HSC Visual Arts Major Work - 2D animated short film
The migrant identity is one that is undergoing a constant state of liminality - 'the transitional phase of a rite of passage, during which the participant lacks a defined social status.'
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artist statement
In the making of Nomadic Dance, I reflected greatly upon my own experiences growing up as a Filipino immigrant in Australia — experiences which marked the identity of myself and other immigrants as ‘imports’ and ‘exotically other’. It is through the artmaking of this Body of Work that I was able to provide a voice for my younger self who heeded the words of stereotypes placed by Australia’s multicultural society. Nomadic Dance invites the audience to embark on a similar liminal experience and hence build empathy towards the immigrant life, rather than abruptly confronting preconceived assumptions.
Inspired by Rosângela Rennó’s film projections onto a curtain of smoke, Nomadic Dance presents digitally animated line drawings of koi fish which represent the Asian Immigrant identity.
Adding a postmodern twist to the artmaking of Kentridge’s animated charcoal drawings, Nomadic Dance comes to life by first drawing each scene digitally using a graphics tablet, then adding key frames in each layer to produce a path animation. This animation is portrayed over a thick fog overlay, which in itself is a physical manifestation of liminal progression.
Also adopting Tabaimo’s Japanese surrealism, the film follows the koi fish as it leaves the comfort of home underwater, transforms into a fowl in adapting to its new environment, and eventually finds his identity upon seeing his true reflection in the water. Such a transformation also mirrors the biological theory of evolution, in which the fowls of today evolved from prehistoric aquatic creatures. In this way, the film implies that the nomadic dance performed by immigrants is intergenerational and valid to societal awareness as it becomes part of the circle of life.
Influencing artists: Rosângela Rennó,
Tabaimo, William Kentridge
