Musical Puppetry: The Whimsical World of George Wu

Sometimes being hands on and a little kooky is exactly what it takes to find your niche in the creative arts. Introducing George Wu: a Japanese-born, London-based director who puts a playful interactive spin into each of her creations.

Animal puppetry and music

George Wu’s instagram is a burst of colour and critters and behind the scenes of her latest work with musical acts Hot Chip and the Skiffle Brothers. Animals are centre-stage as they take over turntables and instruments. Guitars are scratching dogs, a family of cats are prompted to sing as a record spins.

Fusing instruments with the mechanics of animal puppetry was first explored by Wu with the film Dawn Chorus. A commission by Channel Four’s short film show Random Acts in the UK. Random Acts specialises in sharing ‘The world’s best creative films, from established names and new artistic talent, and from avant-garde visual art to music video, spoken word and eye-popping animation.’

Wu’s ‘Dawn Chorus’ is a deceptively simple short to celebrate the joyous moment when birds welcome in the day. A mix of high-end style alongside cheeky puppetry. A head turns, a beak opens & wings flap depending on their connection to instruments while the musicians play their melody.

‘My work explores both the beautiful and the ridiculous,’ says wu. ‘I loved cheeky hand puppets from the 70s and 80s TV we saw as children, and so I’ve set hand-crafted funny little characters to elegant jazz.’ Georgina Wu for designboom

Gallery work

Another of Wu’s musical projects was developed for ‘The Cover of a Book is the Beginning of a Journey’ Exhibition at the Arnolfi, Bristol 2009. In collaboration with Household/Sarah Gottlieb and Yuri Suzuki.

50 Hands, a Household Orchestra is a 50 page book that allows participants to become part of a fully-fledged Orchestra in one hour. Inspired by Change Ringing – the practise of using hand bell ringing as a rehearsal tool outside of church, each page of the book is cut to a pre-tuned length that when rolled up and attached to a straw creates a whistle. Participants then play together with a conductor, following corresponding symbols progressing through the levels until they can play completely unaided.

Awards

George Wu has won a Cannes Silver Lion for excellence in music video for the ‘Luminous Freedom’ video – a celebrity name guessing game for the band New Build in collaboration with still life photographer John Short. With her work spanning across: film, installation, graphic design and events we look forward to seeing what’s next on Wu’s creative Journey.