STEFANIE WONG
CAAF Residency st[art]@Art Central, April – June 2009
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
I am proposing to use the st[art] residency space to create a site specific animation set and puppet for a stop motion animation. I will need the full two months of the residency program to build and film the animation. The first month of the residency will be dedicated to building the set and puppet. The set will involve both two and three-dimensional elements using the wall and floor space of the gallery. The set will be made using mixed media – wood, clay, paper mache, wallpaper, fabric and hair. All elements will have an old, worn-out, abandoned aesthetic. The puppet will be made using an armature (hinged at the joints) made out of wire and covered with paper mache and fabric. The scale of the puppet will be approximately 10 inches tall. The set will accommodate the puppet to create a spatial relationship similar to a live human/room ratio. The second month of the residency will be used to film the stop motion animation.
The set will recreate an old abandoned underground wig parlor. This abandoned wig parlor, decorated with old wigs on mannequin heads and deteriorated pictures hanging on the wall will come to life when a curious girl stumbles upon it. When the girl enters the space, the wigs will start growing off the mannequin heads creeping onto the floor, up the walls and into the picture frames revealing the portraits of the people the hair once belonged to. The presence of this young girl will release the spirits that rest in the hair made into wigs. When the spirits are released, the wigs will come to life revealing parts of the spirits past – stories they weren’t able to tell when alive. This will happen through various patterns the hair creates on the floor and walls of the parlor. The girl builds a relationship with the different wigs by exposing and interacting with other things in the parlor – for example, dusting off an old brush and old picture frames. Eventually, the hair makes its way to the old picture frames hanging on the walls and animates the once forgotten, old portraits of dead people. When the spirits feel contented, the young girl quietly leaves the parlor satisfied she helped release the spirits into a state of ever lasting happiness.