Emily Subr
MFA Digital Animation and Interactive Media, 2023

Project Description:
Dance of the Sea King is an interactive animation and installation that explores the process of utilizing folk story and universality in narrative-driven storytelling to reflect upon cultural identity. Through retellings of classic tales, such as the Korean Shim Chung Jeon, folk stories in animation act as a base for animator’s expressing heavy topics via symbolism and fantasy. It has played an integral part in Emily’s creative research process for examining the relationship of cultural identity and the environment around us. Animation allows children and adults to imagine and gain a deeper understanding of self by embedding the idea of universality and everyday life into whimsical narratives. When mixed with interactivity, this experience of animation brings audiences' attention to emotions through tangible and thoughtful experiences that place them into the narrative. By incorporating Korean cultural narratives into an interactive experience, Emily used her personal journey with her biracial identity to consider how mediums can help audiences have conversations about multicultural identity. The goal of her research was to also aid designers in considering their cultural experience and others when designing environments for storytelling. 

Committee Members:
Kyoung Swearingen, Maria Palazzi, Pil Ho Kim

Keywords:
Interactive Animation, Installation, Folk Story, Cultural Identity, 3D Environment Design