Ke Ren
london-based
moving / still imagesANIMATE
DRAW
EXHIBITION
COLLABORATION
About
Instagram: cokkrn
Email: keren.coo@outlook.com
©2024 by Ke R
Animated Wandering is an ongoing experimental animation project. The current experiments focus on a 30-minute nightly walking route along the River Thames from my home. Using the iPad app Tagtool and a portable projector, these outdoor live animated projections transform sensory impressions captured during the walk—the touch of the wind, the ripples on the water, the rhythm of flow—into light animations that briefly “illuminate” and mark the landscape along the route, as well as the mundane spaces of the daytime.
For both the creator and passersby who pause to observe, these fleeting moments of light and shadow leave an imprint in memory, intertwining with their daily experiences. It touches on the fragility of walking at night, the private experience in public space, the sense of belonging, and what shapes one's sense of place.
Symbols is a 2D digital animation exploring text, symbols, language, and communication, delivering an inherently experimental and abstract visual experience. Initially created as an ident animation for the London International Animation Abstract Showcase, it was directed by Ke Ren, with animation in collaboration with Mingxian Xiang and Clo Romeu Domínguez, and music and sound design by James Ryan. The animation stems from the idea that how can textual symbols be understood and communicated outside their original linguistic context? It deliberately blurs the boundaries between natural and artificial languages, as well as the interplay between text and visual elements, challenging the audience’s perception of linguistic context.
Animator: Ke Ren, Mingxian Xiang, Clo Romeu Domínguez
Composer and sound designer: Jamse Ryan
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
This series of animated loops captured still frames from the animation process, hand-drawn with pencil, marker, and ink on tracing paper. The inspiration comes from the grid structure of crossword puzzles, where each number corresponds to a frame, determining the sequence of the animation, while setting limitations on spatial composition and frame count. As the numbers in the grid gradually fill, a coherent sequence of frames begins to emerge, resulting in a playful and randomly generated dynamic effect, aiming to explore spontaneity within rules, turning the animation creation process into a game-like experience.
This frame-by-frame animation blending 2D digital techniques with ink painting on Chinese paper, is a personal response to my experience of moving from China to London during the pandemic. I often feel out of place amid London’s bustle and energy, with these subtle emotions were amplified as I traveled through the city on the Tube. Through a series of dynamic visuals, I sought to capture the poetic journey as an outsider—a rough exploration of home, memory, and mobility.
2022 Black Lab - Central Saint Martins, UK
2022 Horse Hospital, London, UK
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
An animation commissioned by Children's Society Animation
2D digital, frame-by-frame