Time and again: exploring the relationship between memory and stop motion animation

In the broadest terms, stop motion animation is the animation of physical objects (as opposed to computer-generated images or drawn animation). It has been suggested that this medium is in some way related to memory. Animators such as Jan Švankmajer and Chris Sullivan have linked their own work in the field to memory. This MA by Research seeks to interrogate this premise through animation practice.

Taking the form of a series of short animated films and experiments and critical analysis thereof, this research concludes that the use of materials in stop motion animation lends itself to engagement with the associations between particular objects and memories. Furthermore, the form that the medium takes – a series of still photographs that imply movement – demands cognitive engagement from the viewer than is similar to the narrative organisation of memories.

These findings are contextualised within historic forms of representation and how artistic practice can serve as acts of remembrance.