Analogues is a studio journal about animation (techniques and technologies) and being human.
I’m Lewis Heriz, an artist-animator, working from my home studio in Shropshire, which I share with four hens: Pontoon, Myfanwy, Butter and Önit1.
I have been working as a graphic artist since around 2006, with a focus on music (record covers, posters, illustrations & designs for various independent record labels such as Soundway, Strut, Sofrito and Stones Throw & Now-Again, and events such as the San Francisco Jazz Festival). Since just before the pandemic, I have shifted to animation as my primary art form, having really dreamed of working as an animator all my life.
Why “Analogues”? This is not just about analogue film-making, but about the way our brains are structured through association, or analogy. I’m interested in the interaction of the physical world with neurological processes, hence 'animation and being human’: animation is possible due to the trick of light igniting the imagination (not just human - you’ve probably seen footage of frogs trying to catch flies on a phone screen, etc). Now that our view of the world is dominated by animation technologies - screens of all types, and in the near future (if not now), surfaces and environments of all types - animation is more tightly associated with being human than ever. I’ll be talking more about this.
After completing the Animation MA at the Royal College of Art (mostly during multiple lockdowns), and moving house & studio twice in a year, I’m finally back to making work again, and I want to have an outlet for my progress on projects and the thoughts generated from them in a longer-form, more considered, less attention-sapping platform than the usual platforms, and I want it to be a conversation. I’m also looking forward to the audio function as part of the newsletter, as sound is so integral to my work.
I hope some of you will join me here. It will be a gentle pace. I aim for once a month but it’s not been anywhere near that yet. Let’s see how it develops.
Speak soon,
Lewis
For those I know who were invested: sadly Nibbleigh and Mrs Denise Cooper left us in 2024. RIP to the OGs.