Declan McKenna
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Saltwater 01
2021
Animation on Paper
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Saltwater 05
2021
Animation on Paper
Statement
The body creates memories, like a machine creates outputs, and the ocean creates waves.
Saltwater is my senior thesis film, created by printing animation frames onto paper. This film draws from childhood memories of my family's time spent walking along concrete boat harbors, where I would find bits of furniture or rocks that appeared to be ripped from the foundations of homes. I wondered about the histories that live in these physical objects, making me ponder how the relationships and experiences in my current life will manifest in memories and physical forms. I used artificial intelligence to create many scenes in Saltwater, where I gave a program a series of archived photos that it attempted to recreate, much like a person struggling to recall a memory. This method was integral for my process, as I dealt with questions of control in an uncontrollable universe, where I sacrificed many aspects of control with this project - an exciting and terrifying task. With this film I hope share the desire to create material, permanent forms of love and self, an impossible task in a transitional life.
The music in Saltwater was created by Maya Halko, who brought the perfect meld of dreamy synths and broken architecture to this film.
Please check out http://www.declanmckenna.com/saltwater for updates and official releases of the film.
Animation (BFA) Students
Alanna Huber - not exhibiting
Alexandre Peduti Halah - not exhibiting
Caitlyn Nitahara - not exhibiting
Carleigh Zink - not exhibiting
Claude Mouton - not exhibiting
Corinth Boone - not exhibiting
Dongjoo Kim - not exhibiting
Emily Ayala-Miller - not exhibiting
Emma Barany - not exhibiting
Gabrielle C Stanley-Jones - not exhibiting
Gianna Puglia - not exhibiting
Ikechikwu Osere - not exhibiting
Jack Ryan - not exhibiting
Jade Mangine - not exhibiting
Jasper Jimenez-Marrero - not exhibiting
Jesse D. Clem - not exhibiting
Jia Xuan Lim - not exhibiting
Kamau Williams - not exhibiting
Lakeisha Felton - not exhibiting
Lani Smith - not exhibiting
Leah Renee Marquette - not exhibiting
Leili Arai Tavallaei - not exhibiting
Lenna Forman - not exhibiting
Lucas Lanza - not exhibiting
Madison Elizabeth Cherry - not exhibiting
Masa Elisabet Kuno-Lewis - not exhibiting
Nzuri Parker - not exhibiting
Pablo Wolf - not exhibiting
Rachel Pulido - not exhibiting
Sage Milligan - not exhibiting
Selin Buyukcengiz - not exhibiting
Seth Johnson - not exhibiting
Sonali Rawal - not exhibiting
Tenzin Lhamo - not exhibiting
Uriel J. Cruz - not exhibiting
Wendy Portillo - not exhibiting
Yebing Chen - not exhibiting