Emma Magenta The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch Interview

Emma Magenta The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch Interview

In this whimsical 17 x two minute animated series, narrated by Emmy Award-winning actress Toni Collette, The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch follows acclaimed artist Emma Magenta's newest character, Phillipa Finch. The pin-up girl for the emotionally thwarted, Phillipa Finch tumbles back through her past relationships and reflects on her search for not just love, but AMAZING love.

Phillipa's failed relationships have left her unmotivated, uninspired and with a bruised and battered heart - she's 'died'. Thankfully help arrives in the form of her forgotten self - her true self - who knew how to love properly.

We all relate and empathise with Phillipa's journey. Not just the search for love or the inevitable heartbreak, but also the way she controls her emotions through certain behaviours, be it makeovers, new hobbies or obsessions.

The Phillipa Finch artwork, illustrated by Emma Magenta, is part of a cross-platform project which includes this animated series and an interactive website, www.abc.net.au/tv/phillipafinch.

Fans of the series will have the opportunity to interact with one another online through the creation of a digital artwork or 'Heartwork' - a generative piece of art that captures her fans current emotional state. Once created, Phillipa Finch fans will be able to share their 'Heartworks' virally through email, Facebook or Twitter. The 'Heartworks' will also link to an art installation, 'The Walking Heart', which will be uploaded to the website in video form.

The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch begins screening on Tuesday, February 15 at 10.00pm on ABC1.
www.abc.net.au/tv/phillipafinch/

The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch Episodes
Episode 1: Prologue
There once was a girl who lived with such an open heart, untainted by the need to protect itself. But that was before she became Phillipa Finch and way before she took the journey to road test her emotional ideals. This story is of that journey.

Episode 2: Phillipa Finch is dead
Phillipa Finch is emotionally dead. Fortunately benevolent beings take her away to 'The Place For People Weighed Down by the Consequences of Caring Too Much', to work out how she 'died'.

Episode 3: Phillipa's big "there's no santa" moment
Phillipa takes a trip through her emotional history and remembers her first love, Fragile Boy.

Episode 4: Journey man and the substitute heart
Phillipa falls in love with Journey Man, a lothario with a predilection for collecting women's hearts.

Episode 5: How a return airline ticket can nurture a budding romance
Mr. Lonely Planet unexpectedly moves into Phillipa's house, throwing her life into disarray.

Episode 6: Tired of being an oak tree
Phillipa says goodbye to Mr. Lonely Planet.

Episode 7: How extreme sports can help a girl out
Phillipa discovers extreme sports and suspects she may have outgrown men altogether.

Episode 8: Fire, foxes and phantasms of light
Phillipa receives a visitation in a dream warning her that The Dark Lord will soon cometh.

Episode 9: The dark night of the soul and caribou
Phillipa calls on help to work out how to outfox the fox.

Episode 10: A cupboard full of longing
To fill the emotional void left by the departure of The Dark Lord, Phillipa becomes obsessed with cup collecting.

Episode 11: How to handle cowboys
Phillipa tries out a number of different ways to handle emotional cowboys, with varying degrees of success.

Episode 12: Nurturing illusions on a skateboard, social disasters and the joy of hand-written letters
Phillipa gives herself a make-over in order to fit in with the arty-cool crowd, but makes a fool of herself in front of her new crush, Skater Boy.

Episode 13: How hair reveals whether or not a woman is satiated by love
Phillipa deals with her broken heart with a series of unfortunate haircuts.

Episode 14: Piano man and perfection
Phillipa thinks she may have found her perfect man, with the arrival of Piano Man.

Episode 15: How to fung shui love right out of your life
Piano Man begins a romance with one of Phillipa's friends.

Episode 16: Fitter, faster, dead
Phillipa turns to the self help section of her local book shop for answers.

Episode 17: The resurrection of phillipa finch
Help arrives in the form of Phillipa's forgotten self, who shows Phillipa the beauty in imperfection.

Emma Magenta is the author and illustrator of the enchanting books The Peril of Magnificent Love and A Gorgeous Sense of Hope and has delved once more into her rich storehouse of naive wisdom and joyful artistry to create the magical story of Phillipa Finch. Author, poet and mother of two, Emma draws on her life experiences and lessons to paint a rich tapestry of universal truths.

Interview with Emma Magenta

Question: What gave you the idea to begin writing The Gradual Demise of Phillipa Finch?

Emma Magenta: Firstly, I was approached by Producer, Rachel Okine from Hopscotch Films to write and draw an animation about anything I wanted. I had this character Pillipa Finch that I had been quietly nurturing for awhile and decided to tell her story. I wanted to give form to all the threads of my emotional history, to make sense of how I had arrived at where I was standing at that time. It was like an untapped reservoir of emotion lay at the source of it all and Phillipa was the conduit for the recognition of it. The writing became a book (which comes out in April) before I scripted the animation and was more a process of emotional exorcism than anything else.


Question: What inspires your illustrations?

Emma Magenta: Funny people, my childhood, my adult past, what isn't said between people, the unconscious, alchemy, ex voto drawings from Central America, song lyrics, the way animals respond to things, a desire to transform what is hard to handle into something hopeful, humour in general...so many things really.


Question: Can you talk about how you created the character of Phillipa Finch?

Emma Magenta: I came up with the name Phillipa Finch back in the days when I worked at Berkelouw Books in Paddington. I had too many books on hold and wanted to put some more on aside, so I created a sub-personality that the rest of the staff knew about called Phiilipa Finch. We were often creating fictitious staff members for our own amusement, there was even an invisible store pet pig called Desmond who was responsible for making any mess in the shop. Anyway, over time I would talk about many of Phillipa's character traits such as her obsessive compulsive disorder about cleaning, health and fitness and emotional conquests that went nowhere. She became a much loved character of the shop and over time friends who had been consumed by a cleaning ritual would refer to it as "Finching".


Question: What originally motivated you to begin a career in writing and illustration?

Emma Magenta: I wouldn't say that I set out to do illustration and writing. I actually went to Art School and emerged with the idea that I would be an exhibiting artist making "real art". The whole gallery circuit however pretty much means you have to take yourself too seriously and I just really can't do very much that involves being too serious. I just decided to do funny drawings with silly things written under them to amuse myself and my work mates while working at the bookshop. I just received a serendipitous helping hand when Bradley Trevor Grieve opened the door for me to have my little humble musings published. However, I have always written and drawn and always will regardless, so in retrospect, it all seems like a very organic career transition really.


Question: How does it feel to have Toni Collette involved in your latest project?

Emma Magenta: Well Toni's involvement obviously gives the whole project a beautiful quality because her voice is the constant thread through it all and the conveyor of all meaning. I had a go at first and when Toni stepped in you can really understand the word "professional" in a new way. She is just a very talented and above all generous individual. When she offered to do the voice of Phillipa, I was deeply honoured and very grateful. She is a perfectionist which is obvious in all of her performances. I am lucky for her friendship indeed.


Question: What has been the biggest challenge you have had to overcome on the way to your success?

Emma Magenta: Perhaps the concept of success and failure is the greatest challenge for me; for what are they but two sides of the tightrope that leads you to your goal. I think imagining either one is dangerous for the process of one's creativity as it is all relative and the creation of anything is where the true beauty, magic and divinity exists. Taking my mind off these two words is a daily focus and any other challenges I endured along the way fit under the umbrella of these two words.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Emma Magenta: If we are taking about visual art, I could collaborate with anyone as all ideas spring from the presence or the absence of something. It is often what is most contrary to my nature that i find myself drawn to. So I don't know, Joel Peter Witkin maybe or Matthew Barney. I would prefer to collaborate with someone in the sound world like CocoRosie, now that would be exciting.


Question: How does it feel to watch your illustrations on the television?

Emma Magenta: It's pretty amazing I have to say, especially if I think back to my early drawing days on scraps of paper at the bookshop. What is great about it is the feeling of enormous gratitude to all of the wonderful people involved in the process of bringing it to fruition. It is really wonderful to have sound with my drawings at last...it just inspires the new work.


Question: What is a typical day like for you?

Emma Magenta: Well I have two kids under 5, so that should give you some insight. Obviously my day is structured around their needs and desires and my desire to spend quality time with them. I always have my moleskin on me no matter what we are doing together to write ideas down or draw something. I am always collecting experiences and information around me for the psychic bank to draw from, whenever I can arrange slabs of time to harness it all into "something". I always am doing something each day towards my creative investigations and there is also a lot of tea and coffee drinking, singing and dancing going on.


Interview by Brooke Hunter