Troy Morgan: Beneath the Sea
Beneath the Sea, the gallery's first exhibition with Los Angeles filmmaker and visual artist, Troy Morgan, opens July 16 at Blythe Projects.
There once was a fisherman named, William, whose only friends in the world were the ocean and the creatures that lived in it….One day while William was exploring the ocean floor, he stumbled upon the most amazing sea creature he had ever seen in his life…
Inspired largely by fairy tales, mythology and his childhood fascination with horror films, Morgan’s work explores universal human experiences – the 7 Deadly Sins and the unfolding of consciousness- and reflects how people orchestrate their own private worlds to make sense of relationships and life on the material plane.
Beneath the Sea follows the story of William, a lonely fisherman who spends his days searching for the most unique sea creatures to fill his home aquarium. William’s is a quest for fulfillment leading to capture and containment and the consequences of taking what has not been freely offered.
Morgan builds elaborate miniature sets that hold one stunning animated moment after the next. He also blends puppets with photographed or painted stop-motion figures, continuing to explore new relationships between the mediums. Morgan says, “The narrative always complements the process. A common theme involves the protagonist overcoming adversity by using creativity as a solution, or in some cases, discovering the power of one’s creativity as a force to be reckoned with.” His films are distinguished by their clever skill, emotional power and direct simplicity.
Troy Morgan received his B.F.A. in film and painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. His short animation, Dragon, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Animated Short at the Slamdance Film Festival 2006 and his work has been exhibited at the UCLA Hammer Museum, the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, the Hiroshima Animation Festival, the IFC Center in Manhattan and SXSW in Austin, Texas. Troy has worked with JibJab, Lakeshore Records, 20th Century Fox and American McGee.
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