"The mission of Locust Projects as a place dedicated to providing artists the freedom to experiment gave us the platform to try something new. In three places in the animation, we used a “cel animation” technique by drawing on top of the prints, provided an unconventional way to use a printed edition."

- Jennifer Levonian and Eva Wylie

Philadelphia-based artists Jennifer Levonian and Eva Wylie are collaborating on a new video installation utilizing Levonian's signature cut paper animation technique, which incorporates deftly rendered watercolors into short films that wryly depict prescient social narratives and Eva Wylie's unique printmaking techniques.

Outage is a new single-channel animation made from hundreds of four-color separated screenprinted and hand-drawn cutouts as well as a wall-sized installation of thousands of hand-cut screenprinted snakes.  The animation was made from over 3,000 frames and more than 275 screens were used to create pieces for the animation and the wall installation.

Levonian recorded most of the animation's sound effects. The artists say the sound effect recording process is almost like a hilarious performance. For example, to record Skittles' the dog's growl, Levonian left a recorder inside the house and went outside and pretended to be the mail carrier. 

The artists commissioned Nathan Parker Smith to produce the music for the animation. 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Levonian combines documentary and fiction as she crafts her wry and witty storylines, often relying on documentary-style interviews with protagonists so that their voices live through the characters she creates. Levonian paints the elements of each scene before cutting out particular pieces and moving them frame-by-frame during the laborious filming process. 

Wylie's unique graphic dance juxtaposes organic and synthetic imagery, to create enigmatic work with a signature iconography that intimates how humanity and its detritus merge in both familiar and unexpected encounters.