The Brothers Quay

The Beginning

Stephen and Timothy Quay were born identical twins on the 17th of June 1947 in Pennsylvania, America and are currently 65 years old. They moved to England in 1969 to study a the Royal College of Art in London. In 1980 they met a man called Keith Griffiths and the three of them founded Koninck studios in Southwark, London. The Quays are best known for the puppetry, animation and feature-length films but they are also known for their intense engagement within theatre and opera, working on stage designs, set and projections for productions and shows all over the world.

Before the films

Before the brothers switched to film they worked as professional illustrators. They designed book covers and graphics for gothic, science fiction and fantasy novels whilst in Philadelphia. The Quays made creative suggestions to the authors on more than one account and often when designing their front covers they seemed to reflect their own opinions of the authors on the covers of their own books.

Who influenced the influential

Their influences stretch from animators; Jan Svankmajer, writers; Franz Kafka, puppeteers; Richard Teschner and composers; Zdenek Liska. They have only made two feature-length live action films and almost all of their films have no spoken content at all and rely highly on their composited musical scores. In the past they have also created music videos for 'His name is alive', 'Michael Penn' and '16 Horsepower'. Most of their films feature puppets made of a variety of materials both organic and man made, often created incomplete to create a dark moody atmosphere. One example of this style of animation is 'Street of Crocodiles'.

Currently

At the moment the brothers aren't working on anything new. They are both 65 and though they did bring out a recent film there is no news on there being another any time soon. The brothers often appear in fiction and science expeditions all over the world, spreading their knowledge and wisdom.