Animated self portrait combining scientific insights with oil painting and stop frame animation
“Self Portrait at Six Differing Levels of Magnification” attempts to integrate scientific findings with the subjective nature of the human condition. I approach self portraiture by treating myself as if I were under a microscope. Looking through a lens, I am revealed at six levels, from that of the smallest particle, through to the atomic, molecular, cellular, anatomical, and finally human scales. I focus on the cells and molecules of the eye, as this organ is crucial to the work and identity of an artist. I wanted to use our scientific understanding of the body to illustrate that we appear very different at different scales - that our human, relationship-determined world is just one level of our existence - and that each of us is something of a walking miracle, containing a tiny universe.
I created this work using stop frame animation on Super 8 film to bring a large scale oil painting to life. I hoped to simulate the feel of an inquiring scientist peering down the barrel of a microscope. This work reflects my belief that the work of an artist is like that of a scientist – ongoing experimentation punctuated by flashes of inspiration, and that both draw us closer to new truths about our world and our lives.
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Role
Painter
Video editing
Tools and Technology
Marker and oil paint on canvas
Super8 Film
After Effects