From the Film Maker

‘The Rocking of Venus’ is a story about the beauty of movement. In my hand-drawn animation the character is a girl, a dancer rehearsing alone.

In his painting, Velázquez does not depict the face of Venus: he merely shows it as a reflected shadow in a mirror. To convey this visually, my character is initially shown in parts and is then masked. As Venus is the goddess of beauty and love, she expresses her beauty through her passion for dance. Dance is one of the highest expressions of beauty and vitality. The body becomes energy and releases this energy through lines traced in the air. The colour transition will accompany us into her inner world which, when she dances, becomes a space free from external interferences. She becomes movement herself through swirling lines in a space between reality and dream, where no beginning or end exist.

Silvia Sardellaro

A piece inspired by Velázquez, The Toilet of Venus ('The Rokeby Venus'), 1647-51