Ah Young Shin

Digital Direction (MA)

“Some City in a Nightmare" is a mixed media POV film set within a handcrafted miniature model of the Soho and Tottenham Court Road area. The project offers a subjective and personal curation of site-specific aesthetics and stories, combining traditional mediums like collages and practical effects with punk and queer influences in a hyper-digital space. By bringing this localized time capsule to the big screen, the film aims to remind audiences of the human component of art-making, even in a digital setting—much like Soho, where the city's essence is defined by its people and their attitudes. Synopsis: A woman wakes up before a high-tech display in the heart of London and soon discovers that the city has become strange and surreal. Signs tell her not to go further (‘do not stray from the path!’), but she persists. At the same time, under the full moon, she realises she is changing into something else. As her fear and confusion slowly turn to awe and excitement, she follows a pack of wolves. Together, they tear apart the city in a delightful moment of mayhem. Collaborators: Group members: Ah Young Shin and Zoe Shum Sound designer: Iona MacPherson Score by: Kyle Mantere Research Collaborators: Unseen Tours with Nic Shore / Soho Punk History Tour with Aiden McManus / Soho Queer History Tour with Mark T Cox / Professor Teal Triggs at RCA School of Communications

A Ghost is White: Ah Young and Zoe make a film about White City is an experimental documentary following two Master's students at the Royal College of Art in White City as they uncover the colonial foundations of the area, navigating different project ideas and ways of exploring its ambitious architectural and social development from 1908 to the present day. Synopsis: Ah Young and Zoe approach the unit by wanting to create a project uncovering White City's rarely discussed history. As they gather more research and perspectives and move from focusing on different storytelling mediums (ARG, ghost hunts and hauntings) to deciding to just make a documentary about the area's past and current development, the past seeps through the very film itself, haunting and damaging the footage, distorting reality and time. As art students operating on a site of rich cultural and historical significance, we aim to bring this site-specific history to attention and explore its importance through immersive, nonlinear, metanarrative approaches to experimental film. Our intended audiences are RCA students and staff and others based in White City who may not be aware of its comprehensive past. Since many of the physical buildings during that time are demolished, we use genre tropes (anomalies, glitches, selective colouring) while incorporating traditional filmmaking to visually represent the remnants of the past. Collaborators: Zoe Shum, Ah Young Shin: Group members Filming assistant: Aarti Bhalekar / Iona MacPherson Iya London® - Guided Walks: Joanna Oyediran Nathaniel Télémaque - North West London-born visual artist, writer, and PhD researcher Hammersmith and Fulham Archives

STALL is a 5 minute 360 fictional short film that aims to destigmatize menstruation for young people. The project aims to validate the physical and emotional experiences related to periods and the desire for escape concerning those inner conflicts through an accessible narrative storytelling method. SYNOPSIS Our story revolves around a young person’s first experience with menstruation. Overwhelmed by shame and reluctance to seek support from their parents, they embark on an extraordinary journey by wishing themselves away into a toilet multiverse. Within each alternate universe, they encounter displays of solidarity, open discussion around the prevailing taboos of menstruation, and gains an understanding that this is a natural process. Their journey culminates in the realisation that having periods is entirely normal, and it's perfectly acceptable to seek help. When they returns to their world, they finally finds the courage to ask their parents for a pad. Collaborators: Group members: Aarti Bhalekar, Ah Young, Ruby Bell, Zoe Shum Sound designer: Iona Maragh MacPherson Voice actors: Mark Fingerhut, Janmejay Singh, Bosky Doshi, Sarah Kaaki, Ujwal Mantha, Cassandra (YOU), Kim G (Mary Kenner), Megan Liberty (ANNOUNCER / WOMAN IN AD), Katie Le Poidevin, Long-hin Shum

Using a blend of theater and film, Phantom Pains (2022) is a mixed media short film. Heavily influenced by my moving to London, especially the difficulties of navigating a new physical space and culture, it was intended to capture the anxious and frustrating sides of mobility. Instead of retelling the story beat-by-beat, a more abstract story was created. The ghost was animated on a pre-shot physical set which was designed to resemble a theater that has been torn down and rebuilt in disarray, potentially implying an allegorical theater displaying the most chaotic fragments of life. Mostly foam board and paper, the set was intended to have a fable-like mood, and a blurred line aesthetic of a physical piece and animated cartoon.

About

Born in South Korea and currently based in the UK, Ah Young is a writer and videographer focusing on interdisciplinary narrative work. It is the core focus of her practice to explore the history, language, and possibilities of narrative storytelling.

Her projects often explore themes of identity, genre, and the surreal, using a blend of handcrafted set models, collages, live-action films, and animation.

Ah Young’s recent work, “Some City in a Nightmare,” showcases her innovative approach to digital storytelling. This mixed media POV film, set in a miniature model of Soho and Tottenham Court Road, examines the duality of urban spaces and the artist’s role in portraying site-specific narratives. The film’s surreal and expressionist aesthetic allows viewers to experience the city through a dreamlike lens, reflecting her interest in maintaining the sensitivity and imperfections of human expression in digital spaces.

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