Despite being a bit silly, this piece of stop motion animation was a very emotional one for me to make.

After my dad went into early retirement, he struggled with sickness and depression. My siblings and I tried to motivate him to find some happiness in life and be more active, hoping he would eventually get healthier.

Bouldering and rock climbing was a lifelong passion of my dad’s, one that he had to give up. I thought it was about time to reignite the passion, so I got him a couple of sets of climbing grips for Christmas. He never got to install the grips because he died unexpectedly less than three weeks later.

After dad’s funeral, I took the grips home with me and put them all the way in the back of my closet. It took me more than a year to take them out, unpack them and do something with them.

So every time I watch this animation, I think of my dad and how maybe he would have liked it. And that he would probably have a pointer or two on the accuracy of the climbing technique. 🤍