Nik Arthur’s ultimate creative partner is the natural world in his organic animations for A24 and J Cole

A24 has been killing it on the visual front lately, just look at the popular film studio’s photographic books, a zine about the joy of multiplex cinemas and creative director Liam Hamill’s experimental poster work. It’s how It’s Nice That found Nik Arthur, a Canadian experimental animator and filmmaker who often works with organic matter, such as wool, sunflower florets and even light and fire. “you can’t undo the marks on a leaf that you’ve used the sun to print marks on. Working practically with natural materials means patience, listening, compromise; all areas in which I need practice, and the final product is always surprising,” says Nik. In experimental animation, surprises are a big part of the process – and as Nik utilises analogue-focussed techniques, he emphasises process, physicality and curiosity.

Onto one of his most eye-catching works for A24, Nik worked with Emi Takahashi to create an identity visual made out of real algae from a real swamp in Montreal, choosing duckweed as their paint and the swamp water as the canvas. “When A24 reached out with a very open-ended ask, we realised quickly that these were a great fit. It’s not even animation, in the conventional sense. It’s more like practical effects. We shot it in reverse, and created the whole in the duckweeds using a lasercut wood piece of plywood,” says Nik. “It sounds simple, and it was, but we spent all day trying to nail the take. After that was fine tuning the timing, a process most similar to animation, where you pay keen attention to each frame being used.”

Inspired by the natural world and artists such as Rinko Kawauchi and Norman McLaren, Nik chases a “natural ecosystem of ideas”, driven by his peers and the tactility of his materials – it’s led him to working with Jonah Yano, YouTube and J.Cole with a fiery animation that sparkles with embers, and recently he worked with the artist inspiration app Cosmos with breakout actress Odessa A’zion. “Ideas usually start with some sort of observation, leading to an insight or curiosity. Ice melts. What if I help it melt, in various interesting ways?” says Nik. “In these cases, the material is my work partner, where I patiently (or less patiently) work with its inherent nature.”