Is It Cold In The Water

Inspired by an anecdote of a friend equating her trans existence to that of Medusa's, this piece set to Sophie's homonymous song continues towards a spiraling exploration of fluidity - both corporeal and spiritual. Visual cues like fragmentation and dissolution are brought about as allusions to alienation, subjugation, and detachment. These themes are countered by conceptual reversal with the dissolved bodies coming back together or breaking free. A shaky, fragile and pulsating environment houses these fluid bodies, as they echo the constant blindness of the ever-approaching enveloping unknown of the vocalist.

Technical Implementation

The fluid simulation leverages Maya's BitFrost fluid system. The arrows act as colliders while the bust of the statue acts as a motion field, which upon triggering towards the end brings the dispersed liquids back together. The particles are generated through Maya's nParticle system in a spiraling pattern. They are provided with gradually increasing turbulence and upon the opening of her chest, the turbulence increases exponentially letting them escape out.