Momento Mori – Equality Six Feet Under

Mortality is the great equalizer—we all die, we might as well acknowledge it.

Interested in exploring results of being reminded of our own mortality for this project, I surmised that this mortal reminder offers an opportunity to use death and the reminder of death a form of equalization. Essentially, a true marker of equalization within the human species is that we all die, regardless of our origins, cultures, religions, or beliefs.

I thought an interesting way to explore this idea would be to film a bunch of different people straight on, facing the camera. Then utilizing some of the alternative methods I explored in alternative methods in motion media class, distort the imagery, intercutting, and juxtaposing them. I choose friends from a wide array of cultural and racial backgrounds to further emphasize the idea of equality.

Images seen here have been glitched, step-printed and further distorted using exposure and speed ramping, to the point where we start seeing double images where faces become skeletal and then are faces again, flickering back an forth indiscriminately capturing the relationship between corporeal and ephemeral.

Creative Direction / Design / Animation
Matt Van Rys

Production Assistance
Joel Desmond, Wesley T. Nelson

Models
Christine White
Eniola Odetunde
Joel Desmond
Matt Van Rys
Miao Wang
Muge Mahmutcavusoglu
Tierney Hagan
Xin “Sirius” Zhang
Yi Lu “Louie”
Yunqian “Q” Lin
Wendy Eduarte
Wesley T! Nelson