Papercut Puppets at Villianous Valentines, Feb. 4-5, 2023.

Above is an image of a few of the paper puppets and dolls that will be on offer at Villianous Valentines this weekend at Eldritch Theatre in the Leslieville neighbourhood of Toronto. This arts & crafts show will run February 4-5 from 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Papercut Puppets will have a puppet bundle available at a discounted price only at the show. Will also have a small number of my zoetropes for sale.

Ouroboros: Tears, 7-inch playable vinyl phonotrope

A video showcasing my limited edition artist’s multiple 7-inch playable vinyl phonotrope.

The ouroboros is an ancient symbol of a snake devouring its own tail and represents cycles of birth, death, and renewal. Much like the animated loop, the ouroboros is designed to perpetually start, end, and then restart again. While the endless repetition of a looped sequence is commonplace in the realm of animation, a deeper and more profound reading can be teased out of these loops when placed within the context of the ouroboros, which represents cycles of nature to which humanity is inextricably bound. These cycles can include waves of pandemics that recur throughout history and serve as stark reminders that “history repeats” as we collectively look back at the past for models of how pandemics tend to play out. Cycles of loss and renewal can take many forms: the loss of life, the loss of relationships, and the loss of livelihood have effected the lives of many people during this current pandemic. Even given all these various losses, the seed of hope lies buried within the ouroboros cycle itself by virtue of its very design. With every end, a new beginning must start for the cycle to reset and continue, and it is this promise of renewal that offers hope. 

OUROBOROS:TEARS focuses on cycles of grief and mourning. The music on this disc was created by my collaborator Zev Farber. Interwoven within the repeating music loop of the soundtrack are audio fragments that recall electronic voice phenomena (EVP), sounds found on electronic recordings that are interpreted as spirit voices by parapsychologists (listen closely between 01:20 and 01:40).

This artist’s multiple is available for purchase in my Online Shop.