project background

Learn how this project came to be. To see community animation in action, click here.

Hi, my name is Wynn (they/them). I am a nonbinary artist, designer and animator of Irish, Welsh, British and Scandinavian descent, living on the unceded lands of the Tongva and Acjachemen peoples. I organize multimedia, experimental projects that build community, express solidarity and offer space for grief. Inspired by freedom movements and grounded in reverence for the natural world, my most recent projects approach animation as a metaphor for collective movement-building and celebration of difference.

I am currently finishing an MFA program in Studio Art with a focus on Experimental Animation at Cal State Long Beach. As the genocide of Palestinians intensified after October 7th 2023, it became increasingly difficult for me to find meaning in art-making, at an institution that invests heavily in weapons manufacturing and represses student and faculty organizing on campus. As I became more involved with local organizing, I increasingly found that community was my main antidote to horror and despair.

I created this short loop with crayon and traditional animation paper, which I then composited in Photoshop using images of Palestinian journalists, resistors and martyrs.

In the winter of 2023/2024 I was seeking forms of art-making that were more meditative and grounding. I found myself creating loops, and taking some comfort in the ways that they can go on and on with no clear end point or beginning, infinitely iterated upon. I found metaphors for cyclicality, regeneration, and grief in these loops.

I was spending time with images of watermelon that were circulating heavily for their symbolism in the movement for Palestinian liberation.

I continued to iterate on this concept of a watermelon growing from a seed, ripening, cracking open, returning to the earth, and regenerating. As I considered ways that art-making could meaningfully contribute to the movement to end genocide and the Palestinian liberation struggle, I found my way back to community through collective art-making. I decided to use my thesis project as an offering to my community and a message of solidarity. The intentions of this project are:

to demystify animation and empower participants with some basic skills and understanding of the animation process
to create a gentle space for community members passionate about ending the genocide to reflect and connect with one another over a meditative art activity, in hopes of strengthening our web of local connection and deepening our commitments to our work
to provide a venue for fundraising for Gaza
to use animation as a metaphor for collecting movement-building, reminding us that we build power through each of our our small, unique contributions

I created this loop using a “tradigital” animation software called TV paint. This became the basis for our community animation project.

This looping animation is over 500 frames long. The frames have been printed out and community members are invited to color them in at community workshops. Participants are encouraged to consider each frame a prayer, a commitment or a demand for the end of genocide and empire. The workshops are drop-in and free, with donations encouraged. All donations are directed to Haneen in Gaza. Food and materials are provided. At the workshops, participants are provided with these zines to help guide them through the animation process.

This is an experimental project and an evolving work-in-progress, in which the process is as important as the product. Keep checking this page for updates, and if you have thoughts, feedback or questions, feel free to email me at hello@wynncredible.com or DM me on Instagram @wynncredible.

Special thanks to Beom Sik Shim, Beaux Mingus, Fafnir Adamites, Drew Bacon, Gina Napolitan, José Loza, Kimiko Miyoshi, Nawal Zahzah, Noelle Averett, Toria Maldonado, Lisa Marr, Place LB, Echo Park Film Collective North, and many community volunteers for their time, input and support in developing this project.