Belonging

This animation was created for the MAKE_! Showcase and was awarded 2nd place.

A life characterized by the constant crossing of borders, has left me with a cultural identity resembling a dissonant mosaic. But when my eyes are fixed on heaven, they are opened to the reality that I holistically belong to his kingdom and that everyone around me is equally an image-bearer of God.

Knowing the theme of this virtual showcase, I wanted to create something that would resonate with third culture kids (TCKs) like me who constantly wrestle with displacement and belonging. Like the flower in the video, we pick up pieces of the different environments to which we are exposed, before we even fully develop as individuals. But like the sun descending into the flower's darkness and illuminating everything in a new light, God comes down into our chaos and anchors us to our new-found identity in him, empowering us to see the world through spiritual eyes.

For this project, I wanted to use unfamiliar tools, so I challenged myself to learn the basics of Adobe After Effects in order to use motion and sound to tell a more compelling story. I started by sketching out ideas in my notebook, then scrolled through Instagram for a dose of inspiration. Once I had a clearer picture of what I wanted, I created vector images and imported them into After Effects. I watched a lot of YouTube tutorials, and through that process, learned the basics of motion graphics and created this very personal piece of art.

Comment from the judges:

Our second place winner is someone’s work that prompted the judges to watch it on repeat due to the highly effective storytelling with such simple elements. Our second place winner is Katie Harder’s animation entitled “We Are His People.” The judges were drawn into the repeated movement and composition of the floral imagery, the simple single-line contour drawing and varied, vibrant colour palette that seems to express a diversity of people. In combination with this, the music offers a hopeful take on the search for belonging that is asked about in the introductory text. It offers a sense of there being a place to belong, to be found with a pacing that draws the viewer in. The imagery of a flower that is still growing, and takes in components of its environment every place it is transplanted is a fresh take on dealing with the theme of displacement and belonging. It is a life-giving take on the theme through the colour, movement, and petals of the flower which alludes to Jesus’ reference to being the “vine and we are the branches”, taking this natural world and letting it speak into our human situation is a wonderful thing Katie Harder has beautifully executed. Congratulations Katie!