For my graduation project I wanted to research some of the underlying theory behind graphic design and our visual perception. I was fascinated by the study of semiotics and wanted to know more about how we perceive our environments.
In my research on the subject I came across the oldest tekst on perception, Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’. In the story Socrates describes a group of prisoners chained in a cave where their only reality is defined by shadows cast by objects out of view. Plato believed that we all live in a shadow world where everything we see is an illusion.
Trying to form my own theory on shadows I came across a most interesting book that would be my second source material. ‘Seeing dark things’ by Roy Sorensen is a fascinating and thought provoking book with engaging anecdotes on shadows. Sorensen arguments on shadows gives food for thought even if they sometimes provoke one to construct and defend alternative views.
The structure of the finished booklet is inspired by the ‘Socratic debate’ which is a form of dialectical method. It is a sort of dialogue based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas and underlying presumptions. The pages of the booklet depict an imaginary dialog between Socrates and Roy Sorensen as they discuss the perception of shadows but leave the reader to form his own conclusions.
The folded leaflet is my attempt at an contemporary interpretation of the ‘Allegory of the Cave’ scenario. Photograms are effectively photo’s of shadows and it is the task of the viewer to tests his ability to recognize the shadows. I challenge the viewer to question and rethink what he/she believes to know about shadows. To observe these objects with an open his mind and to view them in a new context or perhaps with a new function.
The result is a type of textbook on the theory of shadows debating various subjects on shadows that we might have thought to be unquestionable. Our concept of shadows and how they work, is shapen by our first interactions with them while growing up but what if we were to view them in a different light?