Image and Perception, Aleksandre Gachechiladze

The project examines the connection of images with our perception. The main interest is in the way designers can manipulate the representation of the object to affect our understanding of it.

The complex notion of the image is deeply rooted in our conscious, and our imagi- nation is skilled at perceiving the ideas behind different visuals. The representation characteristics, on the other hand, can drastically affect the way we perceive reality. A simple change like a color, distortion, line thickness, occasional mistake, composition, the shape of the objects, can completely shift our understanding of that image.

It is no wonder that images have been the focal point of interest of many disciplines, and our understanding of them is increasing day by day. Modern-day utilization of images, as well as film (motion picture) in the advertisement with a specific selection of its contents, colors, and aesthetic to trigger our deepest desires, is a good example of that.

The architecture of course is no exception and images are inseparable parts of the design process. It is interesting how in the architectural discipline metaphysical relation takes place between the realm of existing images, they interact and affect each other. True, architecture is developed from images, but when architecture is realized it is often perceived as an image as well, which joins the realm of unlimited data of references, which later can give birth to new images and architecture.

Responding to these curiosities several iconic representational styles have been selected, after analyzing their characteristics, they have been used to represent the same object in a different manner to see if representation could change the perception of that object. For observation very naive furniture piece – my closet – has been selected. Even though, representing something already invites us to see the object unconventionally, images developed over that period highlighted the role of representation and showed that even simple changes on the two-dimensional surface can drastically affect how we see the object. By the end of the work developed images have been displayed inside my closet, in my room.