Awake
MICA ANIMATION 2017
Directerd by Kino Jin
Sound design by Cazz Cerkez
My idea comes from my personal feeling about self-exploration and Carl Jung’s theory of shadow-self. The story is about the struggle of a character trying to better himself. The film explores the battle between the light and darkness inside of us, and the conflicts between the persona and the true self. It shows as another two characters: a shadow under a cloak and a masked figure. In my work, eyes show repeatedly as a symbol to connect reality and dream. The heavy use of ink and blurring expresses my perception of the world.
When asked “what are you?”, the Buddha said, “I am awake.” I believe this is the world of illusion and delusion. You do not see what you are, what you see is your shadow - part of yourself. Awakening is an inner process; life may continue after awakening as before, the difference is in the consciousness. We want to believe that we can get rid of our inner darkness and then make the right choice, however, we can never eliminate it. The only thing we can do is to live above it and embrace it. The monsters are inside us and the battlefield is the heart of ourselves. My intention is to show the mess of the mind and think about who we really are.
