A Parallel Planets piece by Michelle Rae
Parallel Planets presents William Esdale
in The Evolution of an Artist
Story and Interview by Michelle Rae Uy
Mentioned: filmmaking, human emotions, and personal development
in The Evolution of an Artist
Story and Interview by Michelle Rae Uy
Mentioned: filmmaking, human emotions, and personal development
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London-based artist William Esdale wasn’t always an experimental filmmaker; in a way, he kind of evolved into one. He has always had a burning passion for the arts, though. He first started with drawing and painting, partly as an escape and as a sort of therapy for his depression, and then he dabbled with computer animation. Inspired by his brother who is a photographer, he started doing photography himself and then moved on to filmmaking by 2006.
Unlike many, if not most, filmmakers today who are either all about the fame and fortune or so focused on making their films perfect as possible that they have completely isolated themselves from what is real and lost the honesty that should exist in any form of art, William has emerged as a filmmaker who is undeniably real and unabashedly honest. And while his talent in filmmaking is apparent, he also understands, is sensitive to, and is curious about people’s humanity. With very real emotions bleeding through his pieces and onto his viewers, he documents human emotions and human conditions and recreates them in his shorts in a kind of metaphysical sense. Using clips from found footages or his own videos and manipulating them by corrupting data and/or distorting images and employing such techniques as multiple exposures, delays, inversions, static screens, expressionism, and psychological Q&As, his short films thoughtfully and almost brusquely tackle topics (such as sex and violence) that are irrefutably part of human nature but could prove delicate subjects to many.
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| image from William Esdale |
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| image from William Esdale |
As a filmmaker and an artist, William is definitely someone who is not afraid to push limits, undaunted by what people might think or say, and challenging people to look and face those subjects that society has demarcated as offensive and distasteful despite them being a very real part of humanity. He’s hopeful that someday people will be prepared to open themselves up to alternative ideas, to exploring what society has deemed taboo; for now, he’ll keep on crossing those boundaries.
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| image from William Esdale |
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| image from William Esdale |
William has certainly sparked interest. The brutal honesty and the more mature content of his work has set all tongues wagging and turned the art world upside down. Not only has his work been shown in galleries and screenings in many cities all over the work, he also has upcoming showing in London and in his hometown, Belfast. And will be busy with projects that focus more on studying the human form.
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| image from William Esdale |
Despite his incredible success, he hasn’t forgotten why he wanted to do filmmaking in the first places. He has not strayed far from the original purpose of his work. Yet he is definitely still evolving. He is currently applying for his Masters to further his development as an artist and as a person and most importantly, as one of his main goals, he plans on giving back by starting a non-profit school for less-fortunate young artists who needs help finding their way into the art world.
Simulacrum (Concept #01) from William Esdale on Vimeo.
To know more about William Esdale and his controversial short films, read his interview below.
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Parallel Planets: Tell us something about William Esdale as an experimental filmmaker and before you became one.
William Esdale: "My first endeavours into the creative arts would be drawing and painting. This is a love I have never forgotten and one day hope to get back to. Painting for me was an escape from a very bad depression and loss of one’s perspective in life. Painting gave me back my life and with that a mediation. I had time to think whilst I was painting, anyone who paints will understand the total blankness of time, the blankness of feelings and blankness of those around you. The only thing that exists is you in that moment.
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| image from William Esdale |
As an experimental filmmaker, I find the process beautiful, from the first idea to the final edit. It is an immensely enjoyable process, it gives me a freedom in my life to be as creative as I wish at any given time. Before I started to take my artwork seriously, it was always something that was happening, if not within physical forms, it was mentally happening. I often found myself drifting in and out of creative consciousness. I would daydream and imagine a given idea in a gallery or art space."
Parallel Planets: When/How did your inclination to filmmaking begin?
William Esdale: "Filmmaking started in 2006. My brother Louis who is a photographer made a film titled ‘A Portrait, (2006) and this inspired me to move further into film. I had no say in the making of this film, but just watching him edit the work was magical. During this time in my creative life I was working more and more with photography and trying to understand the power and unique influence it had. Louis and I would spend as many hours as humanly possible in the darkroom. I was still painting, but my motivation and inspiration was moving towards film. Louis has always been a creative inspiration."
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| image from William Esdale |
If I go back further, I would go back to 2003/4. At this time I was learning about animation in moving image. I was using ActionScripts and learning to code JavaScript to manipulate film and moving imagery. I have lot of gratitude for the wonderful people at Toca-Me. They were amazing and so patient with me when I asked them questions about moving image using ActionScripting and Flash. At the time they had this montage of moving faces/portraits as a splash page on their website, it was fascinating, from then on I wanted to learn more about moving image. This moving image education is still embedded in my own process today.
Parallel Planets: What defines your artistic style? What are your “trademarks”?
William Esdale: "I would say my recent video works are poetic, melancholy seeps from the work. I always try and capture real lives in my documentive films and photographic studies. I do not show a lot of my real work due to censorship so my trademark is a little hidden at the moment from the public. One day a brave curator or gallery owner might walk out of the darkness and allow these works to be shown."
Parallel Planets: What influences your work? Who inspires you?
William Esdale: "I always link my early influence to my father. He is a collector of classic and modern films. He and I would watch spaghetti westerns, and other classic films. With this my sense of framing was born as well as my understanding of cinematography. The foundations for photography and film were laid at an early age.
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| image from William Esdale |
My recent inspiration comes many sources. I would say Louis is a major influence. He brings a beauty into my creative life. Artists who are currently inspiring me are: Richard Billingham, Jim Mortram, Franko-B, Naomi Bown, Sarah Maple, Lydia Roberts and Richie Culver."
Parallel Planets: What subject do you explore the most with your films?
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| image from William Esdale |
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| image from William Esdale |
William Esdale: "The human condition is the most important aspect of my work. By that I mean the human being both physical and mental. I’ve always adored and been inspired by the presence of the human body. I never find it uninteresting and I am always discovering new approaches through my art research which keeps my obsession with the human body alive. I challenge people to look at the work and understand why it has been made. I also want people to question what makes it a work of art.
I find with film art it is all about what you see on screen or in some corner of a gallery. No one considers the physical making of the work, and I want to challenge people with this absence in my film work."
Parallel Planets: What is your mantra in life?
William Esdale: "To be a decent, loving, caring, sharing human being."
Parallel Planets: Aside from filmmaking, do you have any other creative pursuits? Tell our readers more about them.
William Esdale: "I am currently applying for my MA/MFA at two prestigious art schools in London. With this I will be able to further my academic research in art history and personal development. This is just for my own personal ambition. I am also moving my art practice into curating art exhibitions.
I want to one day open my own teaching space (non-profit). My motivation is to help artists on low income to realise their dreams of getting into art school (if their ambitions want this), also to setup platforms for artists to go into the art world with confidence by setting up programs to help with their mentoring between established artists and galleries."
Parallel Planets: Mention three of your favorite things.
William Esdale: "Family, Music, Art. Not always in that order."
Parallel Planets: If you were to make an autobiographical film about your life as an artist and you were to use a series of vignettes and found footage, how would that film look like?
William Esdale: "I guess it would be like a Charlie Chaplin movie with laughing, crying, loving and mania. In this autobiographical film I would also use landscape footage from old Russian movies were life is lost and forgotten, emptiness bleeds from the visual."
Parallel Planets: What project(s) are you currently working on?
William Esdale: "I am currently concentrating my energies on a study based on the human form and metamorphosis of becoming. I am happy to have been invited to show my work at the Time is Love Screening, 2014. The study and research will put me infront and behind the camera again. This is something I am very excited about.
I’ve recently been offered four art spaces, two in London, and two in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Curating will be a new direction for me and to be offered and trusted with these art spaces has given me a lot of confidence. I will be working alongside photographers and video artists in these four exhibitions in 2014.
I am so excited to be able to share my love for the arts in my home town of Belfast. It is a growing creative hub for artists. New art run spaces are opening and with this a new and exciting breed of creative minds emerging. I would love to curate more art shows in Northern Ireland in the future. I am always open to being approached by galleries, curators and artists.
I'm also working on a number of self published works for 2014: Glitch Porn Volume I & II, Drone Porn, Curated Ingoing and Lover of the Form. My ongoing mixed media projects are Postcard Frequency, Book Paintings and QR Project. Each is very different and tells something about our culture and society.
Louis and I have been in dialogue about working together on a few projects in 2014. We have two projects in mind. One is about changing the visual landscape via colour, the other a simple but a very effective video art piece based on the reality of cinema and the human experience.
It looks to be a very exciting, and productive year ahead."
Parallel Planets: In this planet that we're thriving in—
What is your power animal?
"I would say a wolf. I love my freedom, I am quiet and withdrawn, but I also have a darker side to my nature and personality."
Who is your alternate ego?
"A friend once said that I have the demeanour of Gandhi, so I would have to say an anti-Gandhi?"
In an alternate universe where film does not exist—
What will your name be?
"My name would be Wilf, it was the name of my son before he was born."
What do you think you would be doing instead?
"I would love to be able to have more time to help those less fortunate then myself."
At Night They Rejoice from William Esdale on Vimeo.
More from William Esdale
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