Winston Hacking's "tonermorphs" are kaleidoscopic clay creatures created to push images as far as they can

"Winston really pays tribute to the word 'morph', as his process involves printing images onto clay which he then shapes and photographs frame by frame to create a "sense of shifting, tactile movement", turning into bizarre animations that sometimes look like the evolution of brand new life forms. Focusing on memory, found imagery and the "tension between analog imperfection and digital control", his subjects bloom and curdle into lumpy clay creatures, some resembling people, others resembling plants in tendril-like movements."

"Winston's presence in these 'tonermorphs' is undeniable, with finger smudges that drag complexions into each other, creating wonderful spectrums of colour. His human smears shape the narrative arcs of the clay's endlessly repeating growth cycles, which also lend the subjects an analog frumpiness, as opposed to the symmetrical perfection of digitally defined work. "For me, touching every frame of clay is a way to stay connected to the work. It's a slow, hands-on process that feels playful and alive," says Winston. "Each small movement leaves a trace of human energy in something that would otherwise be static. It reminds the viewer that what they're seeing is handmade, an illusion grounded in craft rather than automation.""

The artist prints photographic images onto clay, then sculpts and photographs each state frame-by-frame to produce stop-motion 'tonermorph' animations that suggest evolving life forms. Memory and found imagery inform the work, while a deliberate tension between analog imperfection and digital control shapes visual outcomes. Subjects bloom and curdle into lumpy, tendril-like creatures that sometimes read as people or plants. Contrasts between polaroid lifts, image transfers and psychedelic clay mounds provoke simultaneous repulsion and fascination. Finger smudges and human smears create color spectra and drive narrative growth cycles, emphasizing handmade trace, analog frumpiness and craft over automation.

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