Jeongheun Lee
House of Illusions
Illusions and ghosts need to engage people’s imagination in order to be successful. Suddenly you could go anywhere in the world, you could go into space, you could see your favorite literature portrayed on screen, or you could watch horror shows. House of illusions has its meaning where everyone is welcomed to enjoy just like the original purpose of the carpark building where everyone is allowed to use it freely. People share their experiences and follow movements as I did in this project.
My design proposal is changing a carpark building located between Fort Lane and Commerce Street into a gallery space using Pepper’s Ghost. Pepper’s Ghost is an illusion technique used since 1862, when a real or recorded image is reflected in a transparent screen at a 45 degree angle, viewers see a reflected image that seems to have depth and appears out of nowhere.
I intervened in the space using the whole level of the building including a bar, installation spaces and work spaces. Also I added new exterior layers on the four sides of the building to protect and privitize the space and newly propose an abandoned building.
When I thought of the features of the car park building, the spiral structure came strongly in my mind and refreshed my memory of how I enjoyed watching the movement of people. Because of this, there are three main installation spaces in terms of movements and shades. A space with translucent fabrics hung on the ceiling with the light, and people can walk between them and find their shadows and movements. I chose neon lighting for another installation, I developed this idea with the red neon lights on Fort Lane. Showing how the installations come together with the site by bringing the exterior to the interior and matching the atmosphere of the newly renovated building. For Pepper’s Ghost, people walk around the space freely which means they are becoming the subject. A large glass screen is set at an angle, catching a reflection from a brightly lit area hidden from the viewers. The lighting of the hidden area can be gradually brightened or dimmed to make the image fade in and out of visibility. On the next floor, not noticing the glass screen, the viewers mistakenly perceive this reflection as a ghostly figure located among the people on the other side.
