Celebrating illusions
Prepare to question your own eyes, test your senses and have your mind boggled at Puke Ariki’s new exhibition, Illusion: Nothing Is As It Seems.
Illusion, which opened earlier this month, is a perception-shattering insight into the human mind, combining the techniques used by magicians and explored by psychologists.
Puke Ariki will be Illusion’s one and only stop in New Zealand.
Puke Ariki manager Kelvin Day says with more than 19 exhibits designed to blow the mind and featuring a host of installations that deceive the eyes of the visitor, Illusion shows that what we perceive is often radically different from the reality of what our eyes observe.
“We want to challenge perception, boggle the minds of visitors and inspire some future scientists.
“People are fascinated by illusions because they challenge everything we take for granted on a daily basis, they have the power to distort what we see and trick our minds. Prepare to be delighted, bewildered and surprised when you step into the exhibition and experience just how warped our perceptions can be.”
Illusion was curated by psychologist, author and magician Richard Wiseman and was researched by deception artist Paul Gleeson, who is also the world’s youngest professional escapologist.
Richard says magic is an inspiring force for learning. “I have worked with Science Gallery to create an exhibition that will inspire and educate people of any age. Each piece in the show deceives the brain with either an optical, perceptual or audio illusion. Illusions give us a greater appreciation of how we view the world and this exhibition brings us closer to understanding the magic of the mind.”
Some of the illusions at the exhibition include a piece which features a mirror where visitors get to see their inner animal and a space where bugs crawl off the screen and on to visitors’ bodies.
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runs until March 5.