Agatha's Secret

Agatha's Secret from Gaynor Perry on Vimeo.

Agatha’s Secret is a hand-painted animated short underscored by an original song, exploring the emotional terrain of a woman grappling with her inner being. Through poetic and elliptical expression, the film evokes fragmented memories, emotional entrapment, and a longing for release. A recurring image of the swift, darting through the breeze, emerges as a symbol of hope and transcendence.

Set in a surreal, dreamlike world, the animation combines traditional gouache paintings on watercolour paper with digital layering and editing, resulting in a tactile visual experience. Through symbolic imagery and lyrical abstraction, Agatha’s Secret reflects on identity, the lingering imprint of past experiences, and the quiet strength required to reclaim one’s self.

Animation & Music 

written, performed, produced & mixed by Gaynor Perry

Mastered by Magic Garden

The beginning of the song, including its first few lines, came to me in a dream. Upon waking, I vividly recalled the atmosphere and translated my perceptions into music as the foundation for this piece. I also dreamed of a magical silver dress.

The Harridan

Agatha’s Secret emerged from a desire to explore the emotional complexity of inner conflict and self-liberation. The film reflects a deeply personal journey — one shaped by memory, vulnerability, and the quiet strength required to confront the aspects of ourselves that hold us back.

I was drawn to the surreal as a visual language for expressing psychological landscapes. The hand-painted gouache frames on watercolour paper allowed me to work intuitively, embracing imperfection and texture as part of the emotional narrative. The original song underscores the film’s mood, weaving together fragmented impressions of childhood, loss, and transformation.

At its heart, Agatha’s Secret is about reclaiming agency — about facing the storm within and choosing to fly. It’s a meditation on identity, emotional imprint, and the possibility of transcendence through art.

The Unbelievable Truth

This song is the result of encounters I experienced in the dream state, a place that feels profoundly real to me. As always, I strive to bring the subconscious realm to life by capturing the essence of my inner world through the medium of music.

I found them painting clouds, they said it was easy

Then I was laying down, I was having the time of my life

Listening to the owls

I watched you get undressed, your body is a space gate

How many times did I take my face off?

It may not meld back on

There's an owl on the roof beckoning to me

Goddess of the trees

Reach out for what you love, it's reaching back for you

It's the unbelievable truth

We try to resist, civil unrest at our fingertips

You know, people live life times the way you sleep

Come to in my arms, come to

There's an owl on the roof beckoning to me

Goddess of the trees

Reach out for what you love, it's reaching back for you

It's the unbelievable truth

written, performed, produced  & mixed by ℗ © Gaynor Perry

Mastered by Magic Garden

Elisabeth

To discern the fluid precincts of truth, it is essential to nurture a fluent dialogue with the subconscious. By cultivating heightened awareness of intuitive feelings—paired with curiosity and belief in the imagery and sensory episodes delivered through the dream state—one may discover an innate affinity with the world.

Listening Intently

Listening Intently to the Copse
30 x 30 cm, oil on board

The Copse
Welton, East Yorkshire

Listening Intently to the Copse

The gravitational pull of childhood haunts—

a landscape that shaped me most vividly 

through my fractured moments.

The Copse
Welton, East Yorkshire

Inside the copse
Welton, East Yorkshire

Listening Intently to the Beck
30 x 30 cm, oil on board

The Beck
Welton, East Yorkshire

The Beck
Welton, East Yorkshire

The Beck
Welton, East Yorkshire

The Beck
Welton, East Yorkshire

The Beck
Welton, East Yorkshire

Listening Intently to the Dale
30 x 30 cm, oil on board

Welton Dale, East Yorkshire

Welton Dale, East Yorkshire

Listening Intently to the Self
15 x 12 x 14 cm, air-dried clay, paint, gauze

Listening Intently to the Self
15 x 12 x 14 cm, air-dried clay, paint, gauze

Butoh

Recently, I had the privilege of documenting Marie-Gabrielle Rotie's Butoh class. Capturing the sculptural forms shaped by the dancers, I was deeply moved by the poignant elegance of their serene surrender to gravity.

"Butoh is an act of transformation, a process by which the performer 

searches for a state of becoming." 

www.butohuk.com

Marie-Gabrielle Rotie

Marie Gabrielle-Rotie