What Remains
Calgary 2010
4:20
Dir: Stefanie Wong
Digital Stop Motion
Animation
Young Audiences Proram
In an earlier experimental short, With You in Mind, Stefanie Wong explored identity and transformation by filming a woman cutting her hair and rending her clothing. She appears to continue her fascination with the same theme and materials in What Remains. In this strange and whimsical stop motion piece, a young girl named Fiona discovers a mysterious intersection of the real and imaginary worlds while putting away some balls of wool in her living room. In a hidden closet she finds shelves lined with wig stands and a chest full of hairpieces – objects Wong describes as a “physical embodiment of history and memory”. Putting them in some kind of order appears to create a restorative link or balance between Fiona’s past and present, as well as the real and the imagined. Throughout, whether it’s the trail of little heart-shaped pillows that lead her to this chamber of memories, the wiry wigs (that could be symbolically linked to Fiona’s introductory activity of stowing yarn in a basket), the furry monkey that appears or the material Fiona is both constructed with and clothed in, Wong’s interest in working with textiles and fabrics is obvious. The camera conveys the feel of these materials, and their connection with identity via their association with clothing arguably reinforces her themes by evoking memories and stirring up personal associations with identity in the viewer.
STEFANIE WONG
Stefanie Wong obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honours from the Alberta College of Art and Design in 2008. Since graduating, she has maintained a diverse art practice but often returns to combining textiles, film and animation in her work. She likes to explore the use of material and its manipulation in order to reveal labour intensive processes through time and movement. Wong’s films have been screened across Canada at various festivals. Without question, her greatest inspiration is her 7-year-old daughter.
