Illuminate

Illuminate by Nicolas Menard

Director and graphic artist Nicolas Ménard from London-based animation studio and production company, Nexus, presents his first music video, Illuminate for Polydor’s exciting electronic artist Tourist. Featuring vocals from Olly Alexander of Years & Years, Illuminate is taken from Tourist’s debut album which will be released early next year.

Inspired by Japanese graphic artists such as Yuichi Yokoyama and retro games X and 3D World Runner, this fully animated video, directed by Nicolas Ménard, is set in several surreal worlds where communication is lost and confused heart-break takes over. The 2-D animation moves through different backgrounds with the viewer experiencing the video from the point of view of the main character. Tackling themes of love, misunderstanding and the hope of a resolution after a breakup, we watch as our protagonist opens letter after letter, written in a language he cannot understand, to symbolise the chaotic communicative issues that follow a break-up. What is the other person thinking? What are they trying to say?