OUDENK
(let's eat)
Mixed Media Animated Short Film Senior Thesis 2024
This film is a love letter to family, food, and my Armenian heritage. What began as an animated dictionary of traditional Armenian food became a personal film dedicated to my beloved grandfather who passed during the middle of production and was the cornerstone of my family. The film evolved into a mixed media experimental documentary of what food means to me and how it has connected my family and culture across generations. Despite my grief, sorting through hours of nostalgic home videos, countless photo albums and more, allowed me to heal through the creative process when it came time to piece everything together. Since its premiere, I have heard warm receptions of the film from those with similar cultures and I hope that it continues to resonate with those that honor food as a powerful pillar of their ancestry and traditions.
PROCESS
More behind the scenes coming soon, for now here are some bits and bobs!
INSTALLATION
I've been collaborating with fellow MassArt Student Sydney Jae Wong (Illustration '24) to create glass pomegranate seeds for an installation piece to accompany the film. Pomegranates are a major symbol in Armenian culture for a variety of things and I use them often in my work - Oudenk even begins with one being smashed (painted cels) as we have a tradition where a pomegranate is broken against a doorway of a new home or business, and for each new year for prosperity.
For this piece, the seeds represented my ancestry, the people in my family over generations that have still survived the Armenian Genocide and allowed me to be here today. While initially planning to display them in a teacup, I found this golden pomegranate box of my mother's that worked perfectly to highlight the delicate glass and elegance of the fruit. It's been extremely rewarding to get to learn about glass blowing techniques as a side quest to this film, and getting to even try it out in the hot shop one time. Through trail and error, Sydney has created these beautiful seeds that I am honored to have had accompanying the film at the MassArt Senior Animation Show Exhibit.
