Drawing from lyrics on the sun’s power and perceptions of “cleansing,” textured layers of scanned whitening soap on plastic and overexposed cyanotype dyed paper (emulsion ink developed in the sunshine to reach a darker value) were used to present the materiality analogous to flesh and chemicals. The animation features the act of tracing the body through a process called “rotoscoping,” this translation follows live-action footage, giving the animator freedom to extract from the images and instrumentalize the tracked motion. With this in mind, “Papaya” emphasizes its dark background through only the rendering of highlights on the figure’s skin, while the choreographic elements, and formation combat the heaviness of a chaotic memory and a haunting burning nightmare.
Through the aggressive mark-making and scribbly slashing lines, the lyrical narrative frames in on the traumas of beauty and culture's dictatorial power over one's body while creating a space to bask in confidence and to take control.