GRADUATION 2022

After my CA4 feedback I decided to thoroughly go through my work again and look into what I had done before, and what connects it all. A fresh start.

Spatial design, light installations, scenography, stage design

Psychology, emotions, memories, feelings

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In my portfolio I mention that light is a live, interactive architectural tool, capable of shaping the space all by itself, reacting to its suroundings real-time. And the space shapes the feelings and emotions of the ones that enter it. Meaning that I, as a designer, artist, can influence what others are feeling when they enter my space.

Interests:
What makes us feel things?
Feelings through light and colour
Different lighting effects (f.e. strobe) and their effects on emotions and feelings
Perception change through light and colour
State of mind manipulation through colour and light
Lighting usage in cinematography

Visual and work references:

1. Feelings are facts by MAD architects

2. James Turrell

3. Leviathan by Anish Kapoor

Research question (still in consideration?):

HOW CAN I AS AN ARTIST INDUCE / CAUSE CERTAIN EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS THROUGH THE SENSE AND PERCEPTION OF LIGHT IN SPACE?

Topics to reseach (7th-13th March):


- colours and emotions from a psychological perspective

- how does space influence our emotions and feelings (without context)?

- what happens if i add sound that represents/ causes an opposite feeling/emotion than the colour (if there even is a universal code for this)

- Make a log - 30min in red / blue/ green etc etc
during those takes I will write my stream of consciousness

- look for non white, western, cis, male examples of work

- look at systems and structures behind those projects

'space and light bring life into existence. there is no space, unless given light and boundary. space has never existed, but rather exists only in the specific feelings it induces. space in reality, exists only in sensuality. with expanding desire, everything is managed with utmost efficiency. our feelings and sensibilities are seeing facts in the context of habituated life. no until shutting our eyes, can be feel the world from within, space and light will touch your soul.’ – ma yansong

Examples of non western cinematographers work:
(So far mostly asian) (to be constantly updated)

Masayoshi Sukita 'Throw Away Your Books, Rally In The Streets' 1971

KYUNG PYO-HONG 'Burning' 2018

Don JinSong & David Chizallet 'LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT' 2018

Jingsong Dong 'The Wild Goose Lake' 2019

Christopher Doyle, Mark Lee Ping-bing, Chan Kwok-Hung 'FALLEN ANGELS' 1995

A random idea: I will write down what each of those images with one strong light colour feel like to me, before watching the films and compare the results

Outcomes of experiment no. 1 (stream of consciousness highlights)

25 min in REDROOM (255, 0, 0):
-unlocked a few recent memories.
- i said that strong colourful lighting in combination with certain sounds can 'unlock' a memory I never had.
- colourful lighting unwrapped real memories, while adding sound created new old, imaginary memories that never took place, but felt like a real memory.
- sound enhances imagination, light- memory.
-felt pretty comfortable in red, because it was quite dim, by its nature has the lowest energy. I figured I feel comfortable when I don't feel observed, or such circumstances are lowered for instance by visibility.
-later started feeling a bit anxious about the outcomes of this experiment, wanting results quickly, getting a bit impatient.
- this might not affect me as much because I am quite used to being in colourful lighting.

25 min in BLUEROOM (0, 0, 255):
- unlocked memories from even further past, deliberately connected to the colour of light.
- in general unlocked less memories, but maybe i have less memories connected to blue light too.
- felt like i dont belong there, out of place, even though it was my room
- felt like i entered a memory thats not mine, like all of a sudden i was not me and the room was not mine either but at the same time it was.
- my existence didnt feel completely real somewhat.
- i used the word 'blurry' to describe the feeling.
- i felt calm, neither in a good, not bad way, just existing, perhaps a bit melancholic, but not anxious
- time seemed 'fractured'
- had a sensation of being in a parallel present, withdrawn from the usual reality

25 min in GREENROOM (0, 255, 0):
- way lighter than red or blue, higher visibility
- almost instant anxiety regarding near future.
- no memories
- a lot of anxiety - unlocked self-esteem problems
- nervous
- felt the need to do something actively to prove my work and worth
- self doubt
- questioning that i might be going down a paranoia spiral
- staying very much in the present of my reality and wats troubling me
- strong anxiety
- fear of disappointing, not being able to prove myself
- restlessness
- headache
- noticed that, with a switch of colour i switched between patterns of thoughts that i unwillingly choose to stay in.
- thought: is anxiety just the normal state of mind for me?
- 'i dont think i like green, its too light, i feel too seen.even when i am alone, i feel judged.'

MAIN FEELING:

CURIOUS, A BIT IMPATIENT BUT OVERALL COMFORTABLE

MAIN FEELING:

BLURRY, OUT OF THIS WORLD EXPERIENCE, I AM NOT REAL, FRACTURED, YET CALMING

MAIN FEELING:

MAJOR ANXIETY, NERVOUSNESS, SELF DOUBT, FEAR, RESTLESSNESS

25 min in YELLOW (255, 152, 0):
- normally i hate colour yellow, but for lighting, esthetically it works
- brings in more visible colour but this makes sense
- getting annoyed by people shouting on the street
- getting tired - might be that i was emotionally drained from before, an intense experience.
- started to feel hopeless, lost, not knowing who i am and what i stand for.
- questioning whether i am just tired or does the colour enhance this too?
- nonetheless the brighter the light, the more seen i feel, and i dont like it
- started thinking about financial situation of mine - didnt get anxious but rather lost- is my current direction for the professional world really what i wanna do? what do i stand for? who am i? what do i want from life?
- feeling isolated

- somehow camera does not catch yellow at all - it looks normal white while in reality is lemon yellow (therefore last picture is a bit photoshopped to show what it actually looked like)

MAIN FEELING:

LOST, QUESTIONING MYSELF, ISOLATED, TIRED

CONCLUSIONS:

colours triggered memories
colours shifted thought patterns (why do i stay in anxiety in one but not the other?)
colours switched the perception of the whole concept of time
RED and BLUE enhanced imagination through sounds or atmosphere, respectively
emphasis on different parts of 'life' (current reality, imaginative/ parallel reality imaginative past, real & recent past) through different colours
sound is very important when creating an atmosphere

more of random inspiration for lighting here:

COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY

Colour psyhology is a study based on emotional and mental effects that colours have on people with sight. The outcomes are open for interpretation, depending on different cultures, perceptions etc. It is believed that the color choices you make reflect a deeper meaning about your personality traits, therefore, it still is personal.

Basically the study distinguishes two main categories that have significantly different outcomes - warm and cool tones.
Warm colors – such as red, yellow and orange – can spark a variety of emotions ranging from comfort and warmth to hostility and anger. Cool colors – such as green, blue and purple – often spark feelings of calmness as well as sadness.


Purple can induce creativity.
Green and blue are typically considered to be calming colours, also due to the fact that the eye focuses green right on the retina, resulting in minimum straining of the eye muscle.
Yellow and orange awaken the sense of hunger, taste
Bright colours, such as yellow reflect more light, and can result in being irritating.

Color Psychology: The Color White

purity
innocence
cleanliness
sense of space
neutrality
mourning (in some cultures/societies)

Color Psychology: The Color Black

authority
power
strength
evil
intelligence
thinning / slimming
death or mourning

Color Psychology: The Color Gray

neutral
timeless
practical

Color Psychology: The Color Red

love
romance
gentle
warmth
comfort
energy
excitement
intensity
life
blood

Color Psychology: The Color Orange

happy
energetic
excitement
enthusiasm
warmth
wealth prosperity
sophistication
change
stimulation

Color Psychology: The Color Yellow

happiness
laughter
cheery
warmth
optimism
hunger
intensity
frustration
anger
attention-getting

Color Psychology: The Color Green

natural
cool
growth
money
health
envy
tranquility
harmony
calmness
fertility

Color Psychology: The Color Blue

calmness
serenity
cold
uncaring
wisdom
loyalty
truth
focused
un-appetizing

Color Psychology: The Color Purple

royalty
wealth
sophistication
wisdom
exotic
spiritual
prosperity
respect
mystery

Color Psychology: The Color Brown

reliability
stability
friendship
sadness
warmth
comfort
security
natural
organic
mourning (in some cultures/societies)

Color Psychology: The Color Pink

romance
love
gentle
calming
agitation

Coloured lighting and psychology behind it

Kaplan and Kaplan ("The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective”) found that when we are exposed to a new environment, we tend to cognitively try to find a match in our memory that fits the new environment. This helps us interpret and understand a new environment, and might make it seem less daunting or intimidating. This explains the strong connectivity between coloured light and memories that I found during my self- experiment. Finding familiarity in the unknown helps us adapt.

Brightness, Saturation and Hue are the three main qualities when talking about colour in light. Some studies have shown that brighter light can intensify emotions, while low light doesn’t remove emotions, but keeps them steady. This explanation gives me an additional explanation to why I felt high levels of anxiety when sitting in green light, which appeared to me 'lighter', brighter, in opposition to dimmer red, for example. More saturated hues can have amplifying effects on emotions, while muted colors can dampen emotions. As I have done my experiments on the three pure colours (RGB) and one mixed (yellow), I can sense some correlation here. During the 25min in yellow, my anxiety levels dropped a bit (from previous 25min in green), but not fully, which could be explained by the fact that i mixed red, which initially from colour psychology can improve overall stimulation, and was perceived as dimmer, which is said to keep emotions steady, with green, which for me personally caused high anxiety levels, therefore the anxiety was still there but somewhat controllable.
In addition, it’s been proven (through various studies) that natural light can make you happier, but colors created by artificial light can also evoke different emotions and have other effects on the body.
Then there is the connection between blue light and melatonin. It is known that blue light, cold white light can decrease secretion of melatonin, the 'sleep hormone', therefore white, blue light can interfere with our circadian rhythm, meanwhile having red, amber, warm toned whites in the evening can increase melatonin levels, this way helping to keep a circadian rhythm, and can even overall help mental health due to its connection to a healthy sleep pattern.

Colours can have different associations dependent on societal and cultural background. There are some overall associations and meanings that colours have attained throughout the years, as well as some scientific facts (for instance connection with melatonin, or red having an impact on heartrate), however everything is always open for interpretation. I am also not a fan of direct symbolism (for instance blue representing sadness, feeling blue), and dont want to rely on symbolic associations with colours.
What interests me is the part of connectivity of intense coloured lighting with memories. I would like to move my project towards this direction, perhaps best way would be to make it personal?
Also an interesting part of my experiment was, why do I subconsciously choose to stay with certain thoughts in one colour but not the other?
I am also interested in the meaning of sound in light installations, cinematography, in regards to creating an atmosphere, enhancing emotions and feelings.
Also something interesting for me is textures, surfaces in correlation to lighting.

Conclusions for further development

Thoughts of the day:
I think best way I can make this project work out nicely is to make it personal to me. Afterall, my first experiment turned out to be intense self-analytics sessions.
After the class as well as talking to my peers about this project I have noticed that everyone perceives their environment and thoughts completely differently, and I cannot find a universal way, without clashing with somebody's, whos mind works in completely different ways than mine, way of understanding whatever it is that we are talking about. I know myself that I a lot of times have a hard time explaining things in words, when i know what i want to say, feel, but words just dont make sense.

I thought, whether I can use this for my project, how can I translate my thoughts without using words? Non-verbal communication; creating a sense of empathy without the need to speak. Perhaps I can tell my story of functioning in this world without actually having to use words, which a lot of times just confuses me.
This would mean I possibly am opening doors to researching these topics: semiotics, mental health, trauma, color psychology (in context of mental health), empathy. In addition, further analyzing other artists, cinematographers work.
I mention that I do not like putting myself in the centre of attention, feeling seen (in the experiment), but this project does not have to mean that, I can redirect the attention to the experience itself.

D-Tower by NOX/Lars Spuybroek and Q.S. Serafijn.
This art installation was commisioned by the city of Doetinchem. It is supposed to measure emotions of the inhabitants of the city, and reflect it on the installation. Each colour represents one of defined emotions. The data is collected daily, through an online survey, each day asking slightly different questions, the overpowering answers that are tied to one of their defined emotions (HAPPINESS, LOVE, FEAR and HATE) , is what determines the colour the installation shines.
For the meaning of the colours:
Blue = happiness
Green = hate
Red = love
Yellow = fear
What is interesting to me is why those specific colours where chosen to represent those certain emotions and why. Was it deliberately connected to symbolic assossiations?

// to be updated

To clarify what exactly i want to and need to do im making this list for myself:
Things i dont want to do:
- a work meant for public and society
- use symbolism; stereotypical assossiations
Things i do want to do:
- make it experiencial
- individual and personal experience rather than for society as a whole
- want it to be an immersive, almost meditative experience
- emphasize the experience with sound

my points of interest in research now:
-colours
-lighting
-emotions
-feelings
-memories
-empathy
-semiotics
-materializing thoughts and feelings via intangible forms
-focus on the light / experience itself, not on the architecture of the venue, because this experience has the focus on inside rather than other outside stimulus

>> Reflections / thoughts
So far, everything that I did for this project; experiments, research are working to me personally in a therapeutic, self-observational, meditative experience. Maybe the reason for this installation is exactly what it is doing to me - creating an atmosphere that invites observing oneself, letting the environment (sound, light, colours) to shape the thought patterns and follow it. Creating an experience that lets its visitors to sit with themselves and unravel whatever memories, experiences, thoughts that are concerning them.
A space that works in therapeutic and observatory ways.

Nowadays everything that we do a lot of times can be overstimulating, and often we forget to take time for ourselves, which can lead to a number of issues (f.e. burnouts). Offering a space where one can zone out, be within themselves can open a healthy self observatory medium.

I had a concern that in any space if we sit by ourselves long enough this will become an outcome anyway, but how this would be different, is that with colours, light, sound I can create a narrative, 'control' the patterns of thought; a space that is kind of a therapist.

<< What does this mean to the direction of research and formulation of research question?

- I need to look into ways how to stimulate memories, emotions, feelings, from a scientific way. As I have discovered before, when we are in a new environment we try to find some connections from our memories, to relate to the surrounding, meaning that any colour or setting will induce some sort of memories for the visitors, because that is how overall brains work.
- I need to design a narrative that may work as meditation, a story that induces a certain mindset pattern.
- colours are important in the way that they can switch the narrative, pattern, but to connect it to a certain emotion is tricky, because it is different depending on individuals.
- more focus on how does therapy work, how does meditation work, what impact does environment in those settings have, how does thinking work for neurotypical as well as neurodivergent people
- what parts of brain do sound, colour, light trigger >> what does this (outcomes) have on mental state?

Therapy. What are the approaches, how are they different from each other, what methods are being used

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and psychoanalytic therapy are the two most used and equally effective forms of therapy.
CBT focuses on changing, improving, shifting certain thought patterns, in order to heal or reduce symptoms of mental illnesses, for instance depression, anxiety. This method works through constant intervention of patient's behaviour, by, for instance giving weekly homework, or asking the patient to interact with others etc. It is an active practice, that focuses on what is happening now, in order to shift and improve the behaviours for the future, is it 'problem-focused' and 'action-oriented'.
Meanwhile, psychoanalytic therapy focuses on the unconscious. Psychoanalytic therapy is a form of talk therapy based on Sigmund Freud's theories of psychoanalysis. During psychoanalytic therapy, trauma, dreams are being addressed, to better understand the cause and core of the issues that may be triggered by them. This form of therapy works through unraveling the unconscious, analyzing experiences, emotions, unconscious thoughts, avoidance, past and present relationships; and how and why they influence the patient's actions, feelings, emotions and responses now.

Because in my personal experiments I have found out that certain lighting can induce certain thought patterns, and revive certain memories which then lead me to continue with those patterns, i see a lot of correlations with how psychoanalytic therapy works – therefore, my work will be built around and based on psychoanalysis.


('What Is Psychoanalytic Therapy?' by Kendra Cherry, 2021)

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is defined as a set of psychological theories and therapeutic techniques that have their origin in the work and theories of Sigmund Freud.1 The core of psychoanalysis is the belief that all people possess unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories. ('The Influence of Psychoanalysis on the Field of Psychology' by Kendra Cherry, 2020)

Psychoanalysis suggests that through this practice people can gain insight into their current state of mind by bringing the unconscious into the conscious awareness. Through such strategies as dream analysis and free association (unstructured talk therapy, when the patient freely shares their thoughts, however they flow) analysts can help the patient find relief from psychological distress. Psychoanalysis suggests, that the unconscious has a big impact on persons behaviour, has a link to defense mechanisms, psychological and emotional distress occurs when there are conflicts between the conscious and the unconscious. In addition, interestingly S. Freud believed that personality is completely formed in a very young age, until five, and the development of personality is heavily influenced by the events in childhood. Freud stated that when explaining our own behaviour we rarely include the true motivation, not because we are lying, but because they are hidden in the unconscious, and therefore we ourselves, cannot access that information. His whole life work circles around this phenomenon, finding subtle and elaborate ways of how personality is structured via analyzing and triggering the unconscious mind.


The unconscious mind

When explaining how human mind works, Freud distinguished the human mind into three main parts and used an analogy of an iceberg. The consciousness, which includes the thoughts that are the main focus now - they are very present and easily accessible - can be seen as the tip of the iceberg. One layer down is the preconscious - this is the part where all the thoughts can be retrieved from memory, they are not currently actively accessible, but can be easily brought to consciousness. The most important part, according to S. Freud is the unconscious - which can be depicted as the underwater part of the iceberg. The unconscious consists of all the reasons and processes of how human mind acts, reacts and corresponds, like the analogy of iceberg, this is the part one cannot see. This area, the unconscious, works through mediation of preconscious, and is like the hard drive, where all kind of memories, traumatic events, unaddressed feelings and experiences are stored. According to Freud, the contains of this area a lot of times are too traumatic, threatening or painful, therefore they are deeply hidden and inaccessible to the conscious and are repressed, however show presence in ones behaviour, judgement and emotions. However, according to modern psychology, not all contents of the unconscious are traumatic and frustrating components. Some modules work independently in the unconscious for efficiency reasons. For instance, human ability to quickly recognize faces or 'scan' grammatical order does not require consciousness or even aware memory. Nonetheless, a great deal of trauma does sit in the unconscious, working as a defence mechanism.

How can I stimulate the unconscious through sensory environment?

('Freud and the Unconscious Mind' by Dr. Saul McLeod, 2009)

If a picture paints a thousand words, then an experience paints a thousand pictures. (ARTISTIC CONSCIOUSNESS AND RUDOLF STEINER’S THEORY OF COLOUR)

The imagination is a fine and beautiful instrument, but we must experiment with it if we want to discover this for ourselves. (Rudolf Steiner)

In terms of understanding the concept of shining, we can not reach an understanding intellectual abstract understanding, but through feeling.