Gaia Alari communicates universal feelings in her bespoke stop motion animations and illustrations

There’s a wonderful sense of childhood joy in Gaia Alari’s bespoke illustrations and animations for musical artists Alessia Cara, Porridge Radio and even Coldplay. In a style that feels intertwined with mythology and fairy tales, Gaia’s textural, elegant illustrations weave between figurative and abstract with natural movements. Creating a dialogue between shapes, Gaia has a fantastic knack for capturing not just body movement, but how we would like our bodies to move. “I believe that art in general is a language that speaks (for those who listen) to a different level than words,” shares Gaia. “It communicates through a process more similar to digestion, by absorption. The more it raises questions and feelings, the easier it gets absorbed, and the more room the viewer has to project in what they see.”

Inspired by Kiki Smith, Wangechi Mutu, William Kentridge and Yoshitomo Nara, Gaia’s illustrations speak a type of language specific to childhood, especially in the imaginative, kinetic movements of story books or even children’s drawings – bodies become stretched like winding flower stems, elephants become birds which become people embracing in a kiss – it’s a wonderful stream of consciousness. “I like to go as deep as I can, where emotions are more transparent, less shielded,” says Gaia. “In that place, they become less clear to identify. They start merging one another, creating a very primal ambivalent connection.” Mythical and archetypal story telling is important to Gaia, as she takes inspiration from the “mysterious and sometimes dark feelings man could only communicate in folk tales” – for Gaia, her animations encapsulate the spectrum of feelings that we cannot verbalise, so we dance it out.