Girl with birds inside her

Goodyear’s primary medium is drawing but she has started using animation to incorporate movement in her work. The idea for 'Girl with birds inside her' had been in her mind for years - her sketchbooks include many doodles of girls with birds protruding from their mouths. According to Goodyear, the film's imagery hints at being trapped in a relentless situation, a loss of control or perhaps a stifled voice. She says: "There is also a very strange comfort in the way that her mouth contains the bird, all snug and warm in there - it's creepy and would probably turn people's stomachs." Each frame was hand drawn by the artist with pencil and watercolour on paper. To produce the work as a moving animation, Goodyear worked with animator Alexander Hindle from Soup Collective, based in Salford. The sound is by Salford-based sound artist Matt Wand. 'Girl with birds inside her' was commissioned by Yorkshire Sculpture Park as part of ‘Modifications of the Host’, a solo show by Rachel Goodyear at the Bothy Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 1 October 2011 to 3 January 2012. It was also shown by The International 3 at The Manchester Contemporary, September 27-30, 2012.