Two-part vertical composition presenting distinct yet thematically linked visual studies. The upper section depicts an abstract anthropomorphic head rendered with painterly textures and minimal features. The cranial form is circular with a mottled surface ranging from pale beige to darker brown gradients. Linear minimal facial features are limited to a central vertical stroke resembling a nose, two circular dots for eyes, and a short horizontal element suggesting a mouth. The ears are positioned symmetrically but flattened into schematic ovals with faint tonal modeling. Hair-like texture is suggested at the top edge through a darker crown zone without detailed strand articulation. The background is an indistinct gradient wash in muted tones, isolating the head form without contextual setting. The lower section presents an interior environment dominated by an open window in the center, framed by tall vertical walls rendered in muted whites and grays. Light floods through the window aperture, illuminating the surrounding interior with diffuse highlights. The left foreground includes a large rounded mass resembling the abstract head motif from the upper section, positioned against the wall and oriented sideways. The floor area is covered with scattered rectangular sheets of paper rendered in disorganized clusters, angled irregularly and overlapping. Furniture elements are partially visible, including a dark structure resembling a chair or cabinet on the right margin. The tonal palette emphasizes browns, grays, and off-whites with painterly blending, producing a subdued and somber atmosphere. The juxtaposition of the schematic head form and the paper-filled interior suggests continuity of motif across human representation and environmental setting.

Large-format painting depicting a dimly lit interior environment filled with allegorical figures, symbolic motifs, and painterly distortions. At the center, a rectangular canvas or panel is propped upright, illuminated by a strong vertical beam of light entering from above or behind. The image on the canvas portrays intertwined humanoid and animalistic forms rendered in pale tones, merging anatomical curves with surreal hybridization. The surrounding space is darker, with brown and ochre tonal fields dominating the palette.

On the left, a monumental head-like form occupies a vertical oval frame, its surface reduced to a schematic motif composed of a long vertical line terminating in a double curve and two circular dots as eyes. The figure’s oversized presence looms over the rest of the space, functioning as a silent observer or icon. The right half of the composition contains ambiguous sculptural structures, possibly thrones, machines, or storage cabinets, partially obscured in shadow.

The ground plane is scattered with numerous sheets of white paper arranged irregularly, their angular geometry contrasting with the organic curves of the figures. Around these papers, multiple small humanoid or animal figures appear to crawl, kneel, or gesticulate, some extending elongated arms upward in ritualistic or supplicant poses. These peripheral figures blend into the darker environment, their boundaries ambiguous between flesh, fabric, and shadow.

Overall, the scene combines architectural enclosure, monumental iconography, and symbolic clutter, presenting a hybrid tableau where representation, ritual, and narrative converge. The visual language merges surreal figuration, allegorical atmosphere, and painterly chiaroscuro effects, situating the composition within both experimental and symbolic traditions.

Alex Boya’s short film Focus is a one-minute representation of the experience of attention deficit disorder (ADD) through the arts, specifically, through short film. From the aesthetic choice of animation and the way the audio and visual elements work together to make meaning, a lot of nuance can be understood about the experience of ADD by looking at these aesthetic elements in isolation.

Watching Without Audio: What ADD Looks Like
Initially the viewer’s focus is drawn to the simple mouth flap animations, but is then interrupted by various non-sequitur animations aggressively transitioning and morphing into the next abstract image. The only moments of clarity in animation style an progression is when the character interacts with what can be assumed to be a medicine bottle the person within the video. These stand-out moments of clarity are important to the experience of any illness but also are indicative of how the medicine helps to clear things up for both the viewer and the character. Other visual elements such as colours are used to highlight important things the watcher can focus on, such as the orange colour of the bottle in contrast to the simple black and white colours of the line art. With just the visuals, one can argue that this a striking interpretation of what ADD looks (or might look) like.

Listening to the Audio Without the Visuals: What ADD Sounds Like
As mentioned in class, the short film fittingly lacks focus – as evident in most obviously in the visuals. Without the visuals, this lack of focus is more evident in the way the feminine voice – which should be the focus without the visuals – continuously gets interrupted and displaced from being at the forefront of the sound experience, often getting drowned out by other miscellaneous noises.

“Toronto’s Stories of Health+illness.” University of Toronto ScarboroughUniversity of Toronto Scarborough, 22 Feb. 2018, https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/projects/torontostorieshealth/2018/02/22/limitations-of-the-chaos-narrative-alex-boyas-focus/.

Storyline Synopsis Summary: A cart ride through the mental shopping mall of attention deficit disorder. Plot Keywords: shopping, photograph, brain, shopping cart, baby. Genres: Animation, Short. Country: Canada, Mexico. Language: English. Release Date: 2014 (Canada). Production Company Credits: National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE). Technical Specs: Runtime: 2 min, Color : Black and White, Aspect Ratio: 1.78 : 1. Directed by Alex Boya. Writing Credits: Alex Boya Produced by: Vanessa Quintanilla Cobo, associate producer. Michael Fukushima, executive producer. Maral Mohammadian, producer. Jon Montes, associate producer. Film Editing by Carrie Haber. Sound Department: Ramachandra Borcar, sound designer. Geoffrey Mitchell, re-recording/sound recordist. Ceit Zweil, foley artist (as Karla Baumgardner). Visual Effects by Randall Finnerty, digital imaging. Animation Department: Alex Boya, animator. Editorial Department: Denis Pilon, on-line editor. Mélanie Bouchard, titles. Éloi Champagne, technical director. Rosalina Di Sario, administration. Dominique Forget, administration. Steve Hallé, technical coordinator. Stephanie Lalonde, administration. Chris Landreth, mentor.