I’ve been interested lately in making artwork in the form of illusions or simulations, but wasn’t quite sure why. I made many prints and even physical objects that fall under this category of art, trying to tell some kind of truth by revealing a big lie. I think I might of found out why. 

Striving for things that are “real” is common to everyone. In all cases, this very “reality” will be different, even opposite in some cases. The same way everybody aspires to look good – that is, be satisfied with the way they look. When people purposely go against the grain and make an effort to look like something that is not conceived as pretty, they do it because they feel there is something beautiful in its ugliness. It’s like being attracted to something a bit nasty, liking an old tilted apartment or choosing to write a letter instead of sending an email. There is certain “realness” to it, apparently. Being and knowing the real is seen as having an acute understanding of the world. 

But obviously, how do we know that things are indeed real? Well, I’d say that we accumulate the knowledge to identify most of the things that are not real, mostly imitations and simulations, making the real stand out by difference. Parménide thought of the world as being made up of opposites (heavy VS light, etc.) and you can clearly tell that your whiskey bottle is merely trying to be the real thing because you were sick all night. Because we rely heavily on perception to construct our view of reality, there in an inherent unreliable quality to each human’s version of what is the truth. I am not inventing anything here; this is a mainly a cultural phenomenon. Different groups of people have common goals, aspirations and values. The structure what we believe is true solidifies itself with the accumulation of knowledge we come to understand with time, we can construct truth simply using lies. An easy example of this would be myths for children (Santa, Tooth fairy, etc.). 

In this particular sense, I like art. I can build things and make prints and objects and applications and installations that are not true, and inform people about what I think truth is, or maybe should be. I can also make things that are real, but make them look as if they were not, deconstructing a previous assumption on reality. I think this is why I like making optical illusions and simulations that hide most of their message, but reveal just enough to make the viewer doubt they ever saw anything at all.