Artist Polly Nor depicts self-doubt and the struggle for acceptance in quirky style with her animated music video for north London songwriter Chelou.
‘Chelou’ is Parisian slang for ‘louche’. It’s also the name
of a north London-based singer-songwriter whose music
has racked up millions of streams over the past few years. Though Chelou has remained relatively anonymous as a musician, he makes an appearance– albeit in animated form, with hands for feet – in the video of his single “Halfway to Nowhere”, produced by British Japanese DJ/producer Maya Jane Coles.
Polly Nor is a London-based illustrator whose work
has been celebrated for its candid exploration of
femininity and literal depiction of mental angst
through colourful drawings of women and devils in
states of physical and spiritual undress. For a piece
of music by alternative artist Chelou named Halfway
to Nowhere, Nor teamed up with animator Andy
Baker to create a visual story.
Nor’s illustrations reflect her signature frank attitude about female sexuality and eroticism. In Halfway to Nowhere she treats similar subjects which features themes of self-doubt, skewed body image and self-destructive thoughts. The story follows a woman trapped in a grotesque and devilish manifestation of her subconscious. Lost in this strange place, she’s led to confront her demons and make peace with herself.
The chorus line ‘I’m still halfway to nowhere / I’m still nothing today’ , I think we can all relate to these feelings of self-doubt and lack of direction with everything that is happening in the world right now. But like how "Halfway to Nowhere" concludes with the protagonist returning to her own skin in self-acceptance and the arms of the devil-version of herself become a source of comfort rather than despair and she is finally restored to the real world. We all will get through it together and the normalcy will be restored.
Written by
Karvishi Agarwal
Photos by
Polly Nor Website