"Samsara," or the repetitive cycle of birth and death, literally translates to "continuous movement." The imagery of the installation is derived from the seven different realms of existence according to the Buddhist belief of reincarnation.
It was an opportunity of a lifetime to work under the guidance of installation artist Rose Bond, and with her help, we managed to set up the installation at the front window of PNCA, gathering Portlandians around town to witness the spectacle.
Inspired by the works of Swoon and other street artists, I wheatpasted my drawing onto the front window of PNCA.
Inside the window, I rear-projected onto the paper, which became translucent in direct light. In effect, allowing the animation to be seen from the other side.
Constantly looping, the animation featured human heads morphing into animals, a lonely person in a window, and an ever-pouring bottle of spirits from deities above. This piece was an experiment into how hand-drawn animation worked as projections onto still-images.
Samsara ended up becoming my first foray into projection installation work in a public setting. By combining the public nature of street art, projection-mapping, and my love for animation, I had found the framework in which my work would continue to evolve.