The Pavillion

Hannah Spencer-Thompson

The Pavilion is a visual development project for a faux animated short film, intended to challenge the common perception that concepts are confined to children’s media (in a Western context), both historically and in the present. The goal is to question why things are deemed juvenile and how that manifests in censorship or overly explicit material that warps the perception of the medium and perpetuates greater power structures. Subverting the classic fairy tale of The 12 Dancing Princesses, The Pavilion is a queer, POC-led concept that aims to decenter the notions of marketability and the idea that illustrated storytelling is a lesser art.

    ABOUT THE DESIGNER

    Hannah Spencer-Thompson

    Hannah Spencer-Thompson is a graphic designer specializing in illustration and publication design, who focuses her creative practice on storytelling. As a Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Fashion School student, she lives for the graphic, the image. As a fashion communicator, she firmly believes that the illustrated world can achieve more than realism ever could in creating an adaptable, comprehensive world for any kind of project.

    In a time when corporations are attempting to ‘streamline’ the creative process with AI, Hannah strives to ground her practice in textures and traditional artistic practices (brought into the digital space). She aims to centre art in her work to assert its existence for everyone and everything, focusing on themes such as stories centred on the pursuit of capital, its influence on consumers, and how it lessens expectations and restricts definitions.

    Influenced by animation and multi-media illustrations. Her process of making always surrounds characters. To breathe life into them to connect an audience with a message or a product. While she primarily works digitally, the traditional method is always welcomed in development and final projects. She attempts to source or replicate supplementary graphics and integrate them into her work.

    Hannah can see her practice developing outwards, working with brands, leaning into their authenticity to curate publications, and moving towards producing independent, fully illustrated publications.

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