Light and illusion

This project is an investigation of visual illusions created through the interaction of light on different surfaces and structures. Illusion implies deception - an optical illusion, in a sense is misunderstood information that creates a 'false' visual reality. This project incorporates macro and non-macro photography to generate illusion through scale and shape. Through deliberate acts of deception the images play on the human desire for mystery. It is through the 'eye of the imagination' that the images reveal themselves. The photographic images are of dioramas created on the top of a light box, using everyday substances and materials such as glass, felt, coloured transparencies, detergents and liquids of varying consistencies. This project reveals the extraordinary in the ordinary. The outcome of this project is a photographic body of work, the product of my experimentation and research, in which the ambiguous content of the composition, compels the viewer to their own interpretation. Translating some of the resulting images into a three-dimensional light based installation of an illusory nature invites people to take on a participatory role, furthering their experience with the artwork. This project makes us aware of our role within the experiential process, ma king us appreciate and question its very nature.