#HTE

A Hand-Painted Moth Animation by Allison Schulnik Explores Motherhood and Metamorphosis

A moth, or maybe many, mutates through several different forms throughout the course of painter, filmmaker, and ceramist Allison Schulnik‘s 2019 short film MOTH. The work is somewhat haunting in its painted portrayal of a constantly evolving subject. It transforms into larvae, serpents, other brightly colored moths, and a human to the song Gnossienne No. 1 by Erik Satie, performed by Nedelle Torrisi. The film was inspired by a moth that hit Schulnik’s window, and is described as “wandering through the primal emotions of birth, motherhood, body, nature, metamorphosis, and dance.”

Each animated paper slide is hand-painted with gouache and the project took the Sky Valley, California-based artist over 14 months to make. MOTH is currently on view as a part of the group exhibition Suffering From Realness at MASS MoCA through January 1, 2020. You can see more work by Schulnik on Instagram and Vimeo.

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/06/allison-schulnik-moth-animation/