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Ke Ren is a freelance illustrator and animation artist based in London who collaborates as a freelancer with studios in China, the United Kingdom, and the United States. To create her projects, she prefers various media, from 2D digital to traditional hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation, and even augmented reality (AR). He is particularly interested in exploring the intersection between traditional hand-drawing and digital media.
Having studied oil painting in Beijing for four years and earned a master’s degree in animation from Central Saint Martins in London, graduating in 2022, Ke Ren has been fascinated by topophilia, the attachment and love for places, in a sort of déjà vu, a creative inspiration drawn from symbols, poems, memories, and places during her relocations.
In Symbols—a short traditional hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation inspired by Norman McLaren, who extensively explored this technique—we find the artist’s response to life within the Western linguistic system she encountered upon moving to London.
“I discovered that while walking the streets, I could hear languages from all over the world. Even though sometimes I couldn’t understand what they were saying, there was a strange sense of connection. The project stems from this background: a series of visual explorations and experiments on linguistic patterns. I pose a question: how are textual symbols understood and communicated when removed from their original linguistic context?”
The experimental hand-drawn animation Symbols explores text, symbols, language, and communication. It deliberately blurs the boundaries between natural and artificial languages, as well as the interaction between language and visual elements, challenging the audience’s perception.
Symbols, Ke Ren’s first animated work, won the award for Best Animated Short Film at the 13th IAFF International Animation Film Festival Golden Kuker-Sofia and has been screened worldwide.
