Experimental Animation
Hyun-A Cho
Hyuna Cho is an animator from South Korea. She studied Animation at Kaywon University of Art and Design and Hong-ik university, South Korea.
She also runs an art institute specializing in Animation for youth in South Korea and teaches Animation there since 2011.
She is interested in Korean traditional art and culture as well as a global environmental issue. She mourns the loss of a meaningful things such as cultural heritages and natural resources and would like to shed new light on them to preserve and protect.
As part of her practices, she made a short animation film called ‘The animal book (2016)’, which depicts the changing perception of endangered species and changing awareness of humans about them. This film has been selected in the official competition of a number of film festivals including Tampere International Short Film Festival 2016 in Finland and Fantasia Film Festival 2016 in Canada.
During her study in Animation at the Royal College of Arts, Hyuna communicated with people from different cultural backgrounds and she realised that the environment creates a big synergy.
The experience at the RCA led her to focus on her cultural background and find something valuable from it.
She was fascinated with South Korean shamanism which has big contrast between its colourful and splendid performance and the loneliness of the performers.
On her research, she watched a movie called 'Man-shin: Ten Thousand Spirits (2014)', about Korean shamanism and it gave her a chance to think deeply about the life of shamans now.
She made an animation film called ‘A sip of water (2020)’ about South Korean shamanism based on interviews with shamans.
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I would like to introduce about their life which situated between gods and humans through this film.
Shamans are chosen by gods which is irresistible and they become mediators between the the mystic and the mundane, and the living and the dead.
The shamans are considered in Korean society that they are extraordinary as they bridge the gap between the gods and humans with their psychic talents.
The shamans are not situated in both sides. They are not ordinary people as well as they are not gods. They usually feel lonely and confused at the same time because they feel distance from both the spirits and ordinary people.
If you cannot see the video, please use link below with password : hyunacho
https://vimeo.com/427006581