Troy Morgan

Troy Morgan

Click here to preview Troy Morgan's 'Beneath the Sea'


Inspired largely by fairy tales, mythology and his childhood fascination with horror films, Troy Morgan’s work explores universal human experiences – the 7 Deadly Sins and the unfolding of consciousness- and reflects how people orchestrate their own private worlds to make sense of relationships and life on the material plane.
Beneath the Sea follows the story of William, a lonely fisherman who spends his days searching for the most unique sea creatures to fill his home aquarium. William’s is a quest for fulfillment leading to capture and containment and leads to the consequences of taking what has not been freely offered.
Morgan builds elaborate miniature sets that hold one stunning animated moment after the next. He also blends puppets with photographed or painted stop-motion figures, continuing to explore new relationships between the mediums. Of his narrative, Morgan says, “The narrative always complements the process. A common theme involves the protagonist overcoming adversity by using creativity as a solution, or in some cases, discovering the power of one’s creativity as a force to be reckoned with.” His films are distinguished by their cleaver skill, emotional power and direct simplicity.
Troy Morgan was born in 1973 in Santa Cruz, California. He received his B.F.A. in film and painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. His short animation, Dragon, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Animated Short at the Slamdance Film Festival 2006 and his work has been exhibited at the UCLA Hammer Museum, the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, the Hiroshima Animation Festival, the IFC Center in Manhattan and SXSW in Austin, Texas. Troy has worked with JibJab, Lakeshore Records, 20th Century Fox and American McGee.