| Popis: |
This research explores the practice and context of animating female experience, specifically responding to the issue of postnatal depression. The interrelated hypothesis argues the definition of ‘animatrix’; a term that can be used to identify a particular approach to practice that is distinctly woman-centred or woman-created. In doing so, I address unfavourable conditions in the animation industry, both historically and continuing, that discourage an authentic female voice. This study takes an exploratory self-reflective practice approach wherein I examine my own and others’ experiences and responses to mental health issues surrounding childbirth. I correlate these to associated themes of the representation of adult women, social constructs and expectations of women as mothers, concepts of taboo and abjection, along with ideas of embodiment, memory, and fragmented storytelling. Coupled with this, I scrutinise practical and structural techniques used in animating; in particular, hand-drawn animation as opposed to the use of two-dimensional, cut-out, or rigged animating techniques or sculptural or digital three-dimensional model styles. This extends to incorporating haptic and tactile aspects of a drawing-based practice, integrated with theories of flow, to develop iterative digital screen-based artworks that can be displayed in multi-modal environments. Through a critical review of my multidisciplinary practice surrounding the field of animation, I identify key criteria that may be used to designate the honorific of Animatrix to a practitioner or practical outcome. This designation and attendant criteria serve to provide a launching point for further critical discussion from academics, practitioners, and the industry about the representation and contribution of women in animation. |
