Erika Clark-Jensen

About the Artist

In my work, I utilize the tactility of three-dimensional puppets and stop motion animation to create and relay tales to others. My puppets and animations convey the sense of a reinvented, self-contained universe, pulling from existing mythos to create a mythology that feels familiar. The struggles my creatures encounter are universal, but stem from emotions that arise in my own personal experience. Most of my puppets are amalgamations of existing creatures, constructed from a movable wire armature, stuffing, and nylon covered in feathers and fur.

There is a deep connection forged between myself and the puppets I build. Literally having a hand in every move they take allows me to understand them in an intimate way. As I build these creatures and immerse myself in the extensive process of animation, their personalities shape and grow with each interaction. In both my two-dimensional and time-based work, this willing of life into inanimate objects constructs a past and future which I can record as it is created.