Kaleidoscopes
Kaleidoscopes are a civil derangement of the senses. An innocuous parlor trick that gives views into mirrored infinity. Kaleidoscopes are instruments as prestigious as the telescope and the microscope. It is an oculus that provides dynamic views of symmetry. Humans are bilateral symmetrical entities, and this greatly informs our concept of beauty. Symmetry is one of the most important aspects of design because of its primal relationship with the natural world. We are environmentally conditioned to seek out symmetry. The kaleidoscope is a continually mutating mandala permuting perfect symmetrical projections of ornamental designs on it’s axis.
The images shared in this post are reflective of my curiosity with the kaleidoscope. They’re digitally manipulated photographs mirrored on their axis. The subjects of these images are natural objects; stones, mountains, sugar crystals, and a tiger. These images are part of a much larger series I intend to publish later…
Impressions
Kaleidoscopes create a gestalt. They maintain an irrational space for the mind to inhabit. The multilateral symmetry creates a substrate for Pareidolia like a Rorschach test. When I show people these images in person I’m often surprised by their interpretation. People generally give similar descriptions of images. However, there is something about symmetry and ambiguity. It makes it obvious not everyone is seeing in the same way. People will describe things I can not imagine myself until they relate it to me. Some of the images I would discard are beautiful to other people. It is an age old discussion. The confounding relationship between art, beauty and subjective experience.