With their power to turn mundane objects into poetic reflection, holography and stop motion animation have been two longtime obsessions. So when Eric Leiser, a master of both, offered to make a short film for Wyrd, we were ecstatic.
Leiser is a CalArts alum and was mentored by Jan Svankmajer, whose adaptation of Alice in Wonderland blew our minds as teenagers.
Leiser's films have screened at the Whitney Museum, the Venice Biennale and Cannes and he’s exhibited his holograms and other intricate artwork at MoMA, MIT, the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK and at galleries internationally. As an Eastern Orthodox Christian, he is something of an outlier in the artworld. Like the Shinto in Japan, he sees Spirit in all things and practices deep contemplation of the natural world. Working physically with materials from the land reminds him both of his finite place in nature and infinite connection to creation. He finds inspiration in Christian saints, martyrs, desert fathers, miracles, hierarchies of infinity and the holographic nature of time.
The three Norns from Nordic mythology — Urd/Wyrd, Verdandi and Skuld — are the weavers of time and form part of the Wyrd iconography. Along with two swans, the norns live by the Well of Fate beneath a giant ash tree called Yggrasil at the center of the cosmos. Leiser used this imagery as the subject of his film for us, and added our face oils to make it something like a commercial, albeit a beautifully unique one.
What are three words that describe your world?
Dream, Neurodivergent, Faith
What is a nostalgic scent for you?
Redwood Trees
What is your favorite tale, fable or myth?
The life of St. Eustace, my patron saint
What is your favorite organism?
Mycelium found in meteorites
Do you believe in fate?
Yes, in co-creation with free will
Wyrd Commercial by Eric Leiser from Eric Leiser on vimeo.
