After discovering Naomi Oppenheim's Deadyawn puppet I started searching online to see if I could discover whether or not there had ever been a puppet production of Mervyn Peake's work. While I found no evidence of puppets and Peake, I did serendipitously discover a wonderful stop-motion animation by UK-based filmmaker and animater Lucy Lee titled House on a Frozen Lake. According to Lucy, this piece "looks at how we are influenced by our environment...It was influenced by Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast, and living in a spare room in the film school where I was studdying. Sure enough, the following year I escaped to make my next film in Siberia - about as far away as I could get!"
I've had a great love of stop-motion animation ever since I was a child, and it makes me quite happy to see that there are still artists working at it. Lucy's film is remarkable, and full of symbolism. It bears repeated viewings and for something so odd and unsettling, it is laden with meaning.
Lucy's site is here and you can watch many of her films and animations. I've spent some time with House on a Frozen Lake, The Gates of Heaven and Bird Becomes Bird and each is a dark gem in its own way. Also, it looks as if you can purchase a DVD of her short films and animations right here. Best of all, she is very willing to ship overseas.
The more I consider this, the more I realize that some day, somehow, I am going to have to find the courage to attempt some kind of visual exploration of Peake's work myself.
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2 comments:
Thanks Matt!
There is also a great film by Joan Ashworth called "The Web", also based on Peak's Gormangast (also made at the Film School but way before me)... you can view some of it here on her site if you navigate to Films/The Web... http://www.joanashworth.com/
I'll let you know if I come across any more films. Lucy
Lucy, yes! I just discovered Joan Ashworth's film a month or so ago, and immediately acquired her DVD as well. As someone who admires Peake and his Gormenghast novels so deeply, it is wonderful to see so many other talented creators making work inspired by or exploring some of his themes and ideas.
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