Substratae at Harcourt House, August to September 2107

When I was a child, I used to lie down on the ground and try to feel the currents of life underneath. I wanted to enter them. This activity, and a trip I made to Iceland in 2014, provided inspiration for my animation, Substratae.

In the film, individual and unique clay and Fimo characters interact with metaphorical electronic components that symbolize hidden underground energies. Energy currents move everything and everyone; thus they drive the earth and the mythological humans who inhabit a rugged terrain not unlike that found in Iceland. “Alan Sondheim, an experimental computer theorist and sound artist, created the original score for the animation. Sondheim employs the guqin, a seven-stringed Chinese instrument of the zither family, to weave an enchanting musical bed of perfect choreography for Substratae.” (Otino Corsano, May 2015).

A large assortment of sculptural heads are also put on display.  They complement the characters in the film as they emerge from their hiding places. They are displayed like souvenirs from a journey into a mythological world. A series of small drawings depicts these heads in clusters, growing up from the ground. They are burgeoning with currents of energy and offer a glimpse into yet another dimension of this underground flux.

- Margie Kelk