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Animation (MA)

Harvey Auerbach-Dunn

Harvey is a director/animator from a reservoir of nebulous gloop in the Midlands. His work elicits Pavlovian responses from his audiences, causing shock, laughter and maybe a little thirst. He effortlessly draws from the mundanity of his own life to create worlds of winding patterns and dripping landmasses in an honest effort to convince someone to invest in their real-world construction. He likes to explore the delights of 'narrative filmmaking' as one would their local supermarket, semi-regularly and in a hurry. His films are “funny” by multiple definitions, combining absurdism and gallows humour in a molotov cocktail of colour, wit and confusion. Many have pondered deeply over the incredible speed he eats a punnet of blueberries. 

He is currently at work on his graduation film about a young child who wants to become a statue, composing his own synth-based score and fearlessly opening and closing TVPaint to get it to work properly. 

A distorted Harvey Auerbach-Dunn hides behind a laptop

I was fascinated by immersion long before drawing. It comes from a fundamental love for escapism, to take people to a place awash with unfamiliarity allows their mind to let go and engage further with what they recognise among the surreality. Whether it's a drawing, motif, sound or texture, it's that steady rhythm between what you understand and what you don't that I love to tap my foot along to.

I'd like to think my characters are atypical only because they simply act to their truest nature within the strange world they are situated. I'd much prefer to conjure an authentic creature than a dishonest one, and their decisions within my worlds are a lot more to do with unseen forces than nefarious intentions. I often find myself unable to shake my natural optimism, which has little to do with the volatility of the real-world and a lot more to do with my love of observation, each idiosyncratic speckle fuelling my spark for creation.

That creation often sidesteps the Wacom. Barely able to play an instrument, I've previously described myself as an 'anxious MIDI assembler' rather than a musician, quietly layering pads and voice-memo samples for as long as I've known of their existence, using it as a personal form of release in a non-discursive, comforting tone. Only recently have I mustered up the willpower to pair these with my animation, a nervously satisfying decision that I hope continues to prove fruitful in my upcoming projects.

'I Wanna Be A Statue' is my graduation film from the Royal College of Art, a surrealistic dark-comedy epic concerning a young child's quest to become a statue despite the disinterest of her surrounding community. It's a film that explores the neglect of a lively, curious disposition presented against the allure of a garish, homogenous monolith that promises surplus attention, if in the most impersonal way possible.

Thanks for having a read. I'm glad you stumbled here.

floating towns and young child in a colourful landscape
Gloopy character in winding background
Gloopy character red and cyan
Young child leaps in a classroom
statueposter