Arts Thread

Above: Theo Payne/ Bright New Things motion pattern/ Damysus/ Geoserpent

Theo Payne was one of four winners selected to exhibit in New York as part of our ARTS THREAD x Avery Bright New Things Take Times Square competition. We asked Theo a few questions to learn more about his winning project and his plans for the future.

ARTS THREAD: Tell us your background

Theo Payne: I’m originally from Wales, but studied at the University of Brighton as well as the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. I’ve always been in the arts, but in recent years have really concentrated on illustration and animation.

ARTS THREAD: Can you tell us a little about the artwork chosen for the Avery installation?

Theo Payne: The idea for the pattern was to create something that would look good in motion, as well as a stationary print. I created a number of separate animated pieces that all looped around in 12 frames, and fit into either a square or rectangle. Once these were done I assembled them all into a repeating shape. When playing the whole animation, all the little pieces work and move together. The main concept was allowing the motion of overlapping pieces to create the image, as opposed to me just laying things out by hand.

https://vimeo.com/268559966

ARTS THREAD: What was the most exciting part of seeing your work in Times Square?

Theo Payne: Exactly that! It was surreal seeing my own work in such an iconic location, as well as the sheer number of people going through the exhibition. It was one thing seeing the concept art of the structure, but once it actually went up in the square I couldn’t really believe it for the first few hours.

ARTS THREAD: How do you feel showing with Arts Thread x Avery will help you in your career?

Theo Payne: I’ve had work in exhibitions before, but exhibiting in Times Square is a personal high and something that has really boosted my portfolio. It was also a fantastic insight into the amount of work that goes into planning and executing such a large project, and has sparked a greater interest in exhibition work for me, especially with larger scale artworks.

ARTS THREAD: What are your future plans?

Theo Payne: At the moment I’m trying to take a step back from the technological side of illustration and focus more on physical processes (outside of freelance work). I’m attempting to involve storytelling more in my illustration with the goal of eventually moving towards exhibition work or perhaps even publishing!

View all the winning projects from Bright New Things Take Times Square here.