Acts OF PERCEPTION

 

Byodoin Temple 03

This series arose from reflecting on the nature of space-time, particularly in regard to humans being. In considering the act of perceiving an illusion there must be one moment of perception recording the first state of the illusion, and a second moment of perception comprehending the second state of the illusion.

The second thing I found in the garden at Byodoin was this red azalea in total and full bloom. I have an eccentric love for red, and while I might complain that there are no white walls in my studio, this is because I painted all four walls red. So to be next to an explosion of many shades of natural red was highly attractive.

 

This image walks the line of abstraction and photography totally. Rather than use a line of gradated colour at either the top or the bottom of the image, I have borrowed from the interior decorations of the temple, the use of bands of adjacent colour. Byodoin was the first temple to use such decoration, and is renowned for it.

Byodoin is very well known in Japan, in part because there is an image of it on the 10 yen coin. Japan is flooded with ten yen coins, and many people try to get rid of them when they can, by working out change to their advantage.

The distinctive profile of the central structure can be seen in the coin, and in the reflection in the water of my photograph. I think this means Japanese would be able to recognise the temple from the abstracted photograph of it.

 

This photograph will help explain what the visual field is like. One of the wings of the temple can be seen and the entire temple is surrounded by water.

Acts of perception index

Acts of perception 01

Acts of perception 02

Acts of perception 03

Acts of perception 04

Acts of perception 05

Acts of perception 06

Acts of perception 07

Acts of perception 08

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