Symbols 苻呺
Symbols is an experimental hand-drawn animation about text, symbols, language and communication. The project consists of a series of visual explorations with text characters, stemming from the idea that how can textual symbols be understood and communicated apart from their original linguistic context? It deliberately blurs the boundaries between natural language and artificial language, as well as the interaction between language and visual elements, to challenge the audience's perception of language contexts.
The single-screen video installation has been exhibited at Slash Arts Gallery Boat in London and The Holy Art Gallery's Art on Loop. Selected for the Brighton International Animation Festival, Feinaki Beijing Animation Week, International Short Film Festival Canton, MicroActs 13 Artist Film Screening, Big Cartoon Festival. Won the Best Super Short Animated Award (about 1 min) at 13 IAFF GOLDEN KUKER – SOFIA Festival.
Press
A mesmerizing journey that challenges our perception of language and context - Short Films Matter
Ke Ren's chaotic text animation smashes every language barrier - Creative Boom
Symbols: i fotogrammi animati di Ke Ren - Artwort
Drawings ongoing
Inspired by the written and recorded nature of textual symbols, I try to use a combination of traditional and digital media to explore the expression of texts especially in the context of digital communication. The media used include brushes, ink, Chinese paper, and digital software.
Crossword Puzzle
This work documents the process of creating a series of experimental moving images, entirely hand-drawn with pencil, markers, and ink on tracing paper. The initial inspiration came from the grid structure of the crossword, where each number in the grid represents a frame, determining its sequence within the animation and setting limitations in terms of space and frame count.
During the process, as the grid’s numbers are gradually filled in, coherent frame sequences begin to emerge, resulting in a playful, randomly generated dynamic effect, aiming to explore the spontaneity within a set of rules, making the animation process as a form of game-like experience.
Augmented Reality - Ongoing
Animation
use Artvive / Eyejack platform to active the moving image
AR Exhibition - UTOPIA, Brighton International Animation Festival, Fabrica, Brighton, UK
Hong Kong International AR Art Fair 2024, Hong Kong
Underground
A 2D hand-drawn animation that seeks to capture the poetic journey of an outsider through a series of ever-changing frames. The inspiration comes from my experience of moving from China to the UK during the pandemic. The unfamiliar environment often made me feel out of place amidst the hustle and vibrancy of London. When I travelled across the city on the tube, all these subtle emotions were magnified again.
2d digital, paper, frame by frame
2022 Black Lab - Central Saint Martins, UK
2022 Horse Hospital, London, UK
Children’s Society Animation
An animation commissioned by Children's Society Animation
2D digital, frame-by-frame