Laborem Ad Mortem

"Laborem ad mortem" is Latin and literally translates to "work to death". This phrase reflects on a problematic aspect of some work cultures where individuals are pushed to sacrifice their wellbeing for their job. The ideas behind this short animation are an intertwined relationship between work and death. Cramped into office spaces together with the spectre of death looming over us.

The sequence cycles multiple times to relay an idea of this monotonous march towards death. The career elevator is always climbing, always rolling upwards to higher levels, only to find death is above them at every step.

These images are generated with AI, via Midjourney and some directly generated through Runway. Some images animated with Runway and then combined in Adobe Premiere and animated in Adobe After Effects. Glitch effects applied through post production.