Morphosis

Short Film · Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan
Creative Direction · 3D Model · Photogrammetry · Director

Concept & Curatorial Framework
The Morphosis film was developed as a central piece within an exhibition context that foregrounds transformation as experiential and psychological terrain. Inspired by the broader thematic arc of Morphosis—an exploration of the tension between the grotesque and the beautiful, chaos and serenity—my objective was to expand this discourse through motion and embodied visuals. This project does not merely visualize change; it stages metamorphosis itself as a kind of sculptural performance in time.

Why This Exploration
Presented in Tokyo—where contemporary art contexts often blur boundaries between digital, sculptural, and performative practice—the work was conceived to engage viewers in an active perceptual experience rather than a passive narrative. The short film became a vehicle for probing how form, gesture, and digital materiality can evoke emotional and visceral responses without relying on conventional story structure. The underlying intention was to merge cinematic presence with gallery-scale visual experience, enabling the film to sit comfortably alongside sculptures, installations, and performance pieces in the exhibition.

Method & Visual Language
To articulate this conceptual vision, I rooted the film’s aesthetic in physical motion captured through photogrammetry and refined in 3D. The body in the film functions not as a character with a fixed identity but as an evolving substrate—an index of tension between human gesture and digital transformation. The sculpture-like form emerges through exaggerated anatomical distortion, spike-like protrusions, and reflective surfaces that oscillate between abstraction and imperfect corporeality. These choices were deliberate: they create a visual grammar resonant with the exhibition’s exploration of beauty incited by friction with abjection, and vice versa.

Process & Technical Execution
The process began with performance capture—recording embodied movement as the foundation for the digital figure’s evolution. Photogrammetry informed the base mesh, anchoring the figure in real human motion, while 3D sculpting and procedural modeling were used to derive the transformed surfaces. I approached lighting and material shaders to achieve tension between high-contrast reflection and sculptural mass, reinforcing the theme of inner/outer dualities. Each frame was treated as both cinematic moment and sculptural object, balancing temporal flow with formal presence.

Directorial Intent & Exhibition Outcome
As director and creative lead, my focus was to ensure the short film operated as an integral node within the larger exhibition experience. The film loops and shifts, resisting resolution, inviting viewers to confront transformation as an ongoing condition. In this way, it complements the exhibition’s other pieces—prints, AR installations, wearables, masks, and performances—by offering a moving image that dialogues with static works and live bodies in space. The outcome is not simply a film, but a conceptual artifact: a testament to Morphosis as both a thematic inquiry and a material encounter.

WITH

Motion Capture, Art direction, production: Theo Rocq

Dancer: Lara Pegliasco

Music: Scott Wade

Morphosis delves into the captivating characters and intricate physical sculptures of artist Martin Berteloodt. This visual exploration, spanning a month and drawing inspiration from both Paris and Tokyo, unravels the hidden depths of his creative universe.

GO BACK

A detailed sculpture of a creature with butterfly-like wings, a humanoid body, and a spiky, elaborate headpiece, displayed on a textured surface.

A black, shiny, abstract sculpture resembling a humanoid figure with spiky protrusions on its head, standing on a reflective surface with an overcast sky and distant set of smaller structures or figures in the background.

Abstract black sculpture with glossy, fluid-like surfaces and sharp, pointed elements, illuminated with bright light from behind.

A black and white photograph of a sculpture of a person wearing a spiked helmet, balancing on one hand with legs and arms extended.

Black and white photo of a figure with a spiked helmet, reaching out with their right hand, against a cloudy sky.

A bright, backlit silhouette of a creature resembling a mythical beast with spiky protrusions on its head, standing on all fours against a gray background.

Black and white digital art depicting a humanoid figure with exaggerated, sharp, and elongated features. The figure is comprised of twisted, spiky elements and appears to be reaching or grasping.

Black and white photograph of a carved wooden dragon sculpture emerging from water, backlit with bright sunlight, creating a silhouette against a bright sky.