This was my very first animation, and the project that kicked off what became a deep, if slightly belated, love of illustration and animation. It’s a short stop-motion piece called Middle of the Sea, made collaboratively during my undergraduate media practice degree at Goldsmiths, University of London.

I made it with my collaborators Rabia Butt and Bianca Pavel, under the guidance of our tutor Ceiren Bell, with editing help from Alex Drinkwater. I also wrote and performed the backing track, which felt like a natural extension of wanting to shape every part of the thing.

I keep it in my portfolio because it’s where my story starts. The hands-on, frame-by-frame craft of stop-motion taught me how much patience and intention go into bringing something to life a fraction of a second at a time, and that sensibility still runs through everything I make now, including my later documentary and research animation work.

If you’re an individual, organisation or researcher with a story you’d like to bring to life through animation, whatever the style, I’d love to hear from you. Get in touch.