Shadow-puppetry-in-a-cupboard

I exhibited a mini-shadow-puppet-show at Hamilton House last week -part of the Bristol Biennial.

This piece is a work-in-progress. I am exploring ways of making illustration interactive and performative. (i.e. involving the “reader” to make/change/be part of the visual storytelling). This could be via live animation, like a 3d-pop-up book, or a theatre piece in a box. I’d like to explore possibilities in paper and wood -so that the piece has a “book” quality to it, and create something very tactile.

It all started at the RustySquid workshop earlier this year. I was thoroughly inspired by how powerful, yet accessible robotics can be. It opened up a world of possibilities -I have always been interested in making work that is interactive. However, by making a robot you can take the “me” out of the equation, and it all starts to get a little bit more interesting. (shadow-paper-puppet-robots? errr…yes please!). So this is the beginning of something quite interesting (I hope) that utilizes both innovative and traditional techniques.

Here’s some pics of the process:

The next step is to experiment with moving images -a kind of paper automata. I will stat exploring this over the summer, however I also have a few other (mostly paid) projects on the burner, so it may be a slow progress.

A big thanks (once again) to my great friends at RustySquid for helping me install the circuits. You guys rock!…oh and here is a cheeky pic of me in my soldering goggles.