Nicole Au-Yeung is a master’s student in anthropology, with an undergraduate degree in visual communication. She has worked as a visual artist, but later decided to explore more of the intrinsic value of her work under the framework of social science.

“I met Clockwork Wolf in February 2020 when I was looking for a musician for my animation ethnographic film. Being an illustrator and a graphic designer myself, I believe that sometimes the inner beauty, or the true colours of a person could be hidden, or even contradictory to their physical condition (like the playful Stephen Hawking who was bound in a wheelchair). In this project I aimed to translate the factual ethnographic details of my respondent into metaphorical, creative expressions, in order to eliminate the physical distraction and to protect them from any potential social stigma.

Sometimes ethnographic films might be deemed boring for being too distanced, and they require anthropological knowledge to understand. However, when I worked as a graphic designer, visual communication was one of the easiest things to achieve since we were trained to manipulate visual codes and to interpret what the audience might think beforehand – the only concern was the accuracy of the message. Uncannily, Clockwork Wolf was experiencing similar frustrations with trends in music – that what is currently trending would be considered valuable and beautiful. Despite attending music schools and playing music for his whole life, he was experiencing a sense of musical fatigue as a result.”