Do Not Watch This Experimental Animation If You're Claustrophobic

"Memory" details a young woman in a white-walled room as a frenzy of animated structures surge towards her. Be warned.

June 3, 2014, 6:50pm

I'm not a particularly claustrophobic person, but the thought of walls closing in on me as strobic blocks surge towards my head is enough to force me into the fetal position. Therefore, experimental animation piece, Memory, by graphic and motion director Daniel Marciniak is enough to send me into a mental tailspin.

The piece, created at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, details a young woman in a white-walled room. As she sits on the ground, a frenzy of animated structures appear around her, giving the appearance of her being enclosed by bars, surrounded by geometric oddities, and getting confronted by other turbulent shapes. Not to mention, the short is accompanied by a pounding soundtrack, courtesy of the ever-intense Death Grips.

Marciniak wrote on the clip's Vimeo page (which just got a Staff Pick nod), that the animation is about memory, emotions and loneliness. This comes across loud and clear, though the memories alluded to are not the types I'd like to embrace on a casual Tuesday—though I'm sure many others can relate to the artwork's potency.

See some anxiety-inducing stills from the work below, and head over Marciniak's website for more info on his work.