Hillocks

Hillocks

Synopsis: Sometimes I think I have explored this entire garden, wandered through all its paths, roamed up all its hills, and admired all its views. Lost in reverie, I suddenly detect another pathway once again… Description: This experimental animation features the enigmatic bodies of dyed crystals grown from a chemical process in aqueous solutions. The obscure process of growing dyed crystals, a once relevant practice in materials science, has become obsolete and through my recent work, I became interested in reviving this process. I aimed to bring to life a large collection of crystals into a moving painting, while calling into question their relevance as art objects. I discovered the lost art and science of growing dyed crystals during my residency at the Kahr Research Group from Bart Kahr who worked with these types of crystals throughout 30 years. Virtually every frame of the film showcases a different crystal in the meticulously constructed work. The imagery is an embroidery of thousands of crystals documented in a unique way I discovered utilizing scanners during my residency at the Kahr Research Group. The film was created during my residency at the Santa Barbara Center for Art Science and Technology. In 2020, this film won the GLAS Animation Festival grant, which is the only grant in the US for independent animators in the US. Screenings: McEvoy Foundation for the Arts Screening Exhibition; San Francisco, USA BitBang International Animation and Digital Art Festival- "Hillocks" Screening; Buenos Aires, Argentina Punto y Raya Academy 2022 - Portuguese Retrospective; Valencia, Spain TOFUZI International animated film festival- "Hillocks" Screening; Adjara, Georgia MIRA - The Latin American Independent Film Festival- "Hillocks" Screening; Bonn, Germany 18th Athens Digital Arts Festival - "Hillocks" Screening; Bonn, Germany MONSTRA Animation Film Festival- "Hillocks" Screening; Lisbon, Portugal Sound Design: Alysia James, Ben Betts, Maria Ferreira