One of our newest collaborators is artist Hannah Taggart. Here’s what she says:

I create sculpture, installations, animation, films, drawings and sound pieces. My inspirations include Tove Jansson, Susie Templeton, Caroline Leaf, Yuri Norstein, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Kihachiro Kawamoto, Raymond Briggs and Susan Hiller. I’m currently designing and filming a stop motion animation ‘Heirlooms’, which is about a group of children whose neighbourhood is haunted by a ghost called Peg Prowler. The puppets for ‘Heirlooms’ were assembled from bits of fabric, cured sculpey, wire, card, paper and viscose, with the intention that they resemble old dolls abandoned in an attic. The sets and props for ‘Heirlooms’ were created from cardboard, paper, sculpey, fabric, salt dough (photocopied to create stone effects), shrinkies, wire, paint and anything else I could utilise.

I like to create small worlds that are much like your own, only you blink and miss them. These worlds are often fragile, unsafe and unsound and are constantly under threat from hidden enemies both external and internal. I am drawn to the recurring themes of wish fulfilment, repetition, memory, inaccessible worlds, the fantasy life of the child and the alienation of the dispossessed. Sometimes I feel like something has been stolen from me and I want it back.

My work was selected for the following exhibitions: ‘Discardboard’ in Edinburgh, ‘Mysteryland’ in Manchester, ‘Magick’ in London and ‘Things That Go Bump In The Night’ in Scunthorpe. I also created work for the international project ‘The Travellers Box’, which went on to be selected by curators for ‘100 Curators 100 Days’ hosted by Saatchi Online. I was granted a solo show (‘The Ghosts Of Borley’) at The Here Gallery in Bristol and contributed to the ‘154 Autumn Exhibition’ at The Royal West Of England Academy. I produced an animated music video (‘Houseache Horse’) for the singer-songwriter Men Diamler, which was screened at Ashton Court Festival. I also illustrated the book ‘Heirlooms & Other Ghost Stories’ by James Stoorie as well as a number of books published by Inkermen Press. I receive a credit for contributing art work to the album ‘Show Your Bones’ by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

For more on Hannah’s work, please visit:

http://www.saatchiart.com/taggart

www.facebook.com/heirloomsanimation