Liberati : A New World A terracotta figure that had been stuck behind glass for millennia finally learns to fly. What I Built A visual narrative spanning three acts that brings to life a previously static, wide-hipped ancient terracotta statue of a woman. Rather than remaining behind glass in a case, she has been brought back into a rich, mythical, utopian world. The film starts with her bathing peacefully in a series of terraced hot springs with a group of figures like her, then moves toward a state of release until she finally attains complete freedom, floating weightlessly above vast desert canyons and ending with a thrilling, high-speed, manga-style animation. Why I Built It The entire work rests upon one contradiction: the physical reality of the object and the concept of absolute freedom. Since terracotta is heavy, earthy, and in every way deeply rooted, all the characteristics of the statuette tend to draw her towards the ground. I have given this ancient and imprisoned museum piece the very opposite experience: weightlessness and boundless joy. The video achieves this by creating an entire civilization around her and then allowing her to take flight, thus turning the historical artifact into a symbol of complete and unlimited liberation. MET Artifact Referenced: Statuette of a female