Memoir of a Snail Memoir of a Snail

Director's Statement
My stories are reflections of everyday life; biographies of people we can relate to; friends, eccentric relatives, and the colourful people we encounter in the street. I try to get a balance between humour and pathos, light and shade, comedy and tragedy. I invented a word to describe my films, clayographies, a portmanteau term combining clay and biographies.
As an auteur, I have to wear many hats. One of my favourite roles is the Production Designer. Melbourne had one of the longest covid lockdowns but luckily, I was able to spend my confinement prepping for the film. Over five months I hand drew the 1600 storyboard panels on pieces of paper then moved on to drawing the 200 characters, 200 sets and the thousands of props that needed to be handmade. For this film, I wanted to keep the materials and aesthetic simple, and use four basic materials: clay, wire, paper and paint. Too much stopmotion has become slick and reliant on 3D printers. I wanted to celebrate the clay, its lumps, bumps and imperfections.
I was born with a hereditary shake which I have incorporated into my aesthetic. Every asset had to look flawed, asymmetrical; as if made in a hurry or by someone who was drunk. My character's psyches are imperfect and so I wanted their appearance to match my drawings which are loose, gestural and naive. I have a holistic approach to my work and strive for originality. Art imitates life and vice versa; for me they are inseparable and both art and filmmaking have become my yoga.