Every Decision Made Through The Body

Reflections on a painted animation, Hypnagogia II

Thinking about how the physicality of making guides the outcome. Scroll to the end for our “We Invite You…” prompts

I’ve been reflecting on a piece I made a little while ago, Hypnagogia II, and wanted to share some thoughts.

The piece explores the liminal space (a transitional space) between waking and sleeping. The figure was painted at each stage of the turn before being photographed and reworked for the next frame, and the final piece exists as both a painting, layered with previous states of being, and as a digital animation.

Hypnagogia II frame, Rowan Briggs Smith

I think it’s interesting how art evolves as you make it. Original intentions might still be present (in the case of Hypnagogia II, they were) but sometimes they shift, or we see them from a new perspective through the physical process of making the piece.