BECALĒLIS BRODSKIS
AKA EXISTENTIAL SITCOM
The Work
Working within the tradition of artists as mystic fools
With a question a journey begins
Creating a contemporary iconography is my way of untangling the paradoxes of experience.
I start from an autobiographical perspective. An authentic documentation, open to fiction, that develops into a portrait of the people I meet along the way.
In a retelling of their stories – there are too many interesting tangents for straight lines.
The work is to remain attentive to the unseen, document lives lived, the extraordinary or the mundane, and embrace the absurdity of being alive.
The Medium
Stone - Paper - Film - GPS
Trained with masters with the freedom to do it how I dreamed it when scribbling.
Moving between documentary and fiction. Working across different methods of hand-drawn and digital animation, film and video. Subjects include dance, mysticism and philosophy
My own films have received international recognition, including the FIPRESCI Prize at Oberhausen, selection for Sundance USA and Britich council touring exhibitons,
Alongside Directing i have produced for Channel 4’s Animate and consulted leading creatives including working with BAFTA-nominated and Oscar-winning directors.
Drawing on the symbolism of anatomy and a childhood spent in Morocco and India, I started by making large-scale clay figurative sculptures at Norwich School of Art, late 80’s with Anna Maria Pacheco as an inspiring teacher.
I then undertook a traditional apprenticeship with master stone carver Jonathan Roberts. Working as a stone carver, I carved memorials and headstones in English churchyards, alongside commissions for collectors across Europe.
I return to stone and clay with a love for iconography in bas relief.
Drawing is both the foundation and the peak of expression. photography frees drawing from the need to reproduce the perspective of realism.
Through drawings, sculptures, films and prints are worked out. Sometimes sketchbooks become animations in themselves like straight ahead running away or Platform Number 3
I am interested in how the act of mapping as a method of oreinetation in what can at first be unfamiliar territory .
My PhD was an intesection of the psychogeography of Guy Debord with the philosophy of Henri Bergson . Both have informed my method of mapping that reveas the relationships, stories and unseen energies that shape how we experience a place.
I became fascinated by creating maps that identify portals between seemingly unrelated points in time and space — using golden thread as a ritual connection between them.
Interested in beginning your creative journey, a masterclass, or bespoke mentorship? Let’s connect.
For over 30 years, I have taught across higher education and community contexts, leading creative departments including Animation at the London College of Communication.
As a mentor and consultant, I have worked with leading artists, including BAFTA and Oscar-winning directors
To discuss workshops or one-on-one mentorship, send me an email at brodskis@gmail.com
Current Project
The Mulberry Tree:
And the taste of its fruit
In the Alpujarras of southern Spain stands a mulberry tree.
Coiled amongst its branches is a silkworm dragon,
Breathing a golden thread.
Tasting the fruit of this mulberry tree is why the project began
You are invited to take part.
A film that evolves from :
- A participatory map of the golden thread
- A series of workshops with mulberries
- A creative ritual of the imaginary
Bringing myth and the unseen into the socio-political realities of our time.
Click on the links for more information or to support the project
Snippets of the production journey can be seen at @existentialsitcom. BECOME A PATRON — SUPPORT THE PRODUCTION MORE INFO ON THE MULBERRY TREE PROJECTWork
Contact
- brodskis@gmail.com
- Between sunrise in the east, setting in the west