SCANimation: Rattlesnake Master

The animated short, Rattlesnake Master, is part of a larger body of arts-based research that explores connections between art, nature, colonialism, and power structures. Rattlesnake Master is inspired by sensationalized tales of New Worlds and their inhabitants common during the era of early colonization. After long voyages, explorers would return to Europe with exoticized stories detailing the customs of non-Europeans, reinforcing ethnocentric hierarchies of the time.

This animation is named after the native Maryland plant Rattlesnake Master, purportedly used in indigenous snake handling ceremonies. Though many online sources claim this as fact, there is no concrete evidence of this practice existing. In the animation, a snake awakens from a long slumber to create new life through a surreal journey. Though snakes traditionally represent deceit in Western culture, the snake depicted in Rattlesnake Master represents transformation and growth.

The digital assets in Rattlesnake Master were captured using scanography, a process that uses a flatbed scanner to create digital images. Scanned natural materials include native and non-native plants, dirt, insects, and a five-foot snakeskin.

Rattlesnake Master was exhibited in the juried exhibition Reverie and Alchemy and at the CCBC Art+Design department Biennial. 

You can view the animation here.