Animated Quilt of Nathan and Bryan
What began as an experiment in turning quilts into moving images became a six-year project to produce just a few seconds of animation. I filmed my friends Nathan and Bryan exchanging a kiss on the cheek, then selected 36 frames from the footage. Each frame became its own three-by-four-foot quilt, constructed from tiny pieces of fabric. In total, the project contains nearly 59,000 fabric squares. The finished quilts were photographed and assembled into an animation that plays on a continuous loop.
Initially, I was interested in the technical challenge. Could I take something as slow and physical as quilting and use it to create a moving image? I loved the absurdity of the idea. But as the project stretched from months into years, my understanding of the work began to change. I was spending an extraordinary amount of time reconstructing an ordinary moment of affection between two men.
The animation is simply a kiss on the cheek. Nothing particularly dramatic happens. But the gesture repeats endlessly, never progressing into anything more. What began as an experiment in craft and technology became something much more personal: an exploration of tenderness, intimacy, and the desire to hold onto a fleeting moment. I spent six years making a few seconds of affection, and somewhere along the way, the time and care involved in making the work became inseparable from its meaning.
