2011 | Wild Goose Chase

Wild goose chase

Pencil animation, 5 sec video projection, 4:3, loop
2011

http://vimeo.com/29557842

'Wild Goose Chase' (2011), is a looped, five second pencil drawing animation projected onto tracing paper. A hat is blown along by the wind, a walking stick appears, catches the hat, and returns it to its original location. 'Wild Goose Chase' originated from Popa's research on Mann's The Magic Mountain, but was also inspired by a photograph of the young Franz Kafka, a contemporary of Mann. Both the character in the book and Kafka wear a similar hat and hold a walking stick. Popa uses these drawings of 'props' to connect the novel and performance to the animation, the image to text, but there is also a lightness of touch and humour which makes the film compelling beyond its literary roots.
(Text by Emma Dean, curator; originally published on Axisweb, a showcase of contemporary art in UK)