Recursions presented by Coleen Baik

Baik’s first film, Tuscany, was drawn frame by frame in Photoshop over 15 months and explores fear, rebirth, and the cyclical nature of passage. Through her later films, Chamoe and 엄마 나라 | Mother Land, Baik developed new visual styles and animation techniques. The latter marked a shift toward a looser, more abstract narrative approach. She also experimented with phonotrope animation, a technique that uses a turntable and camera to reveal motion imperceptible to the naked eye. Baik is now fully embracing hand-drawn animation in her newest film, Vespertine, created with graphite on index cards. She developed sequences for the film during her residency at MacDowell.

Based in New York City, Baik brings an introspective lens to her films, drawing on themes of longing, memory, and interiority. Though she graduated with a degree in French and built her early career in digital product design, she has pursued her practice with remarkable self-direction, without formal training in visual arts or filmmaking. Her animated films are all less than 10 minutes in duration, running a gamut of styles in accord with her evolving creative vision.