LONDON, ENGLAND.- Hibernator is a new site specific work by London Fieldworks commissioned by Beaconsfield London. Hibernator takes as its starting point the myth of Walt Disney - cryogenically frozen at the point of death and incarcerated until technology can bring him back to life. The artists propose his re-animation to star in their film; ŒHibernator: Prince of the Petrified Forest¹ inspired by the first eco novel, ŒBambi¹ by Felix Salten.

An animation studio will be set up within the Upper space at Beaconsfield and, for the duration of the seven-week exhibition, the artists will be engaged in the making of an animated film. The film will begin with the re-birth of Disney in the form of a chimera emerging from hibernation; a monstrous hybrid of himself and his iconic characters, Bambi and Thumper. It will follow his negotiation of an increasingly unfamiliar landscape, far from the idyllic forests of his imagination.

The animatronic chimera - constructed in collaboration with robotics and prosthetics specialists and set against a pre-scripted narrative and soundtrack - is the central element and subject of both installation and film. Activated by an environmental cue - solar energy - the re-awakening of the chimera is conceptually linked to natural animal hibernation patterns.

The live artwork allows the viewer to witness the solar powered actions of the animatronic as well as the artists engaged in the live film making process. The experience is completed by viewing the film as it unfolds during the exhibition period. As it is created, each episode will be screened in the vast Arch space that is annexed to the main venue.

Hibernator: Prince of The Petrified Forest is funded by Arts Council England, Henry Moore Foundation, Arts Humanities Research Council and London South Bank University. http://www.beaconsfield.ltd.uk/