I'm creating a spider creature out of an old crab shell. The spider is symbolic of patience as she spins her web, reminding us that Elizabeth waits for her baby to come. Also, to me, the spider is an embodiment of fear.
This bit of the song conjured up her image in my head:
"She got hands as white as milk And weaves a web of spider's silk that glistens When my baby comes There is an ancient question behind her eyes That I can't even begin to describe (Hey, don't do that on the carpet!) When my baby comes"
I accidentally broke the back bit off that I had attached to the crab. Oooops! Although I think it actually looks better without it now, so that's not too much of a problem. I might paint it tonight...
These are photographs of some of the objects that I have gathered so far. There are other little macabre bits and pieces that I already own that I have to locate. I need a timepiece of some description and some chains...
After I listened to the song a few times and extracted some meaning from the words I started to get an idea of what this animation should look like. A clinical setting is mentioned so the idea of a hospital corridor crept into my head. I want those green hospital colours, but decaying like the buildings in Pripiat.
I imagined Elizabeth would be crawling along the hospital corridor, bleeding. The doors open to reveal sadomasochistic scenes. I can see old medical instruments and creatures made from bones. The paint is peeling from the walls, there are chains and straps and bits of things that are long-dead.
The band I worked with on the 'Murderer' music video (Sixtoes) have asked me to make another video for a track that they have remixed. The song is called 'When My Baby Comes' and is by Grinderman. I heard the Sixtoes remix before I listened to the Grinderman version and I think that the remix is much darker. For my needs this is a good thing, the darker the better.
I can't embed the audio that I am working with as as far as I know it's not in the public domain yet. I can however, embed a youtube clip one of Grindermans live performances of that song:
The lyrical content of this song is quite disturbing:
"When My Baby Comes"
Thank God we don't get all our hurts at once That would be a really bad thing When my baby comes Thank God we don't get all our olds at one time (Listen to me talking in my hospital gown!) When my baby comes Best thing about this place are the showers Worst thing is the visiting hours (Hey, careful of the carpet!) When my baby comes They had pistols and they had guns They threw me on the ground as they entered into me (I was only fifteen!) When my baby comes
Just how long you gonna be, my baby? Until you come?
She got hands as white as milk And weaves a web of spider's silk that glistens When my baby comes There is an ancient question behind her eyes That I can't even begin to describe (Hey, don't do that on the carpet!) When my baby comes Is there anyone out there wasted their lives? On booze drugs husbands wives and making money? When my baby comes They had pistols and they had guns My skirt above my head I was so much older When I crawled out from their mushroom cloud When my baby comes
Just how long you gonna be, my baby? Until you come?
When she come? When she come?
The meaning that I have gained from listening to the song and talking to Sixtoes is that it is written from the perspective of a young, pregnant rape-victim. This is certainly the avenue that I am exploring from a narrative and aesthetic point of view anyway.
This is the 'Murderer' animation that Elizabeth and I made for Sixtoes a couple of years ago:
I am to use Elizabeth again, like I did in the 'Murderer' animation, and the band would like something with a similar look. That part is easy, as the style is mine anyway. I can already see what it will look like. Elizabeth is fully functioning and eager to start. Building the set and finding somewhere to work is not so easy.
