Animation & Motion Design
Shonagh Mirtschink
The Garden
A garden is a place that embodies the balance between order (masculinity) and chaos (femininity). Despite this, gardens can also be home to pests and predators, and a conscious effort must be made in order to keep a garden safe and productive.
The Garden follows a central character’s journey as she falls out of paradise, into an underworld. The piece can be thought of as a Heroine’s Journey, or a journey inwards, which is shown by the character falling and sinking downwards throughout the animation.
With the use of symbols, I explore a number of issues relating to the female experience, such as the vulnerability of being perceived, predatory forces, anxieties related to the complexities and difficulties of motherhood and fertility, and the relationship between masculinity and femininity.
I use fruit throughout the piece as a symbol of femininity and youth, as both are desirable, sought after commodities. However, their value may feel tragically short lived.
As the piece concludes the protagonist is able to integrate masculinity back into her life, turning the snake, a symbol of toxicity and predation into an orb which embodies the masculine and feminine qualities of the sun and moon.
- mirtschink.shonagh@gmail.com
- www.instagram.com/cansandhorses/
- ie.linkedin.com/in/shonagh-mirtschink-446b34226