Collaborations with the animation artist Natalie Hobbons
Touch
Touch (tŭch) v. to become so close together that there is no space between; to become connected with a person; to make somebody feel.
An animated inquiry into our innate longing for touch.
~ Director Sentiments: written from a UK perspective, July 2021 ~
By January 2021, the concept of ‘social distancing’ was now an established standard in the UK, and so many territories across the world. But for the first time in living memory, avoidance of proximity and touch takes on its own moral high ground, well aside from the reasoning of chastity or any other social convention.
From unlocking to re-locking and then unlocking once again. Government mandates move on, and responsibility is thrust back onto the individual. Hugging should be done ‘carefully’. Mask wearing and social distancing is now described as a ‘personal choice’. Yet all is packaged-up with a faintly disguised moral burden for us each to own.
Never before has a hug with a friend been so weighted - such desire, yet for some, such hesitance.
Ask a health professional what ‘being careful’ will mean for you and your own circumstance, and they may describe it as a balance between both ‘physical’ and ‘mental’ wellbeing.
An horrific social experiment, and a psychological rollercoaster.
So what has social distancing done to us, and will our innate desire for touch ever be the same again?
Sensory Folk
👶 Being both a parent with a little one and an animator has the tendency to leave oneself inspired by a particular category - The Baby Sensory video! A particular sort of entrancing video, to sooth your infant when they're not at their best.
🥑 Most baby parents I know are fans of the infamous Dancing Fruit. So here's my take at the genre.
🤔 Through a course I'm dong through Motion Hatch, I have been challenged to 'push at doors' and maybe not put weight too heavily on one thing. So here's a little push, and something I've been wanting to try for a while.
💫 For Sensory Folk, I have re-positioned some animated loops from 2021, and set them against a longer form musical soundtrack. Big thanks to Richard Jones for the musical collaboration.
(Natalie Hobbons: animator)