Immersive Experience: Evoking the Elements of Contemplative Space in Japanese Architecture

Abstract

This research project investigates the creation of immersive contemplative viewing experiences within my visual arts practice by identifying and adapting the fundamental elements of Japanese contemplative space into my aesthetic and conceptual lexicon. Contemplative experience is an intrinsic aspect of the human experience which has become increasingly scarce in this age of perpetual overstimulation and increasing secularisation. The primary goal of the research project is to provide a significant opportunity for new audiences to engage in meaningful contemplative experience informed by the centuries-old principles of yūgen 幽玄, ma 間, and hikari to kage 光と影 within Japanese architecture. The studio-based research first explores the creation of contemplative objects constructed with glass, followed by a series of maquettes of potential immersive contemplative environments. The research culminates with the immersive installation, Lux Mandala, which utilises the material characteristics of glass microspheres to synthesise the ephemeral optical phenomenon of the “glory” into a meditative encounter with light, shadow, space, transience and profundity. By aesthetically locating the viewer at the centre of this phenomenon, the viewer’s presence and perceptual mechanisms complete a participatory loop, allowing the phenomenon to enter into existence while enabling the viewer to reflect upon its nature, notions of perception and transience, and the significance of their own presence within this evanescent tableau. The outcomes of this research project represent a significant new nexus between visual arts practice, immersive experience, and the essence of Japanese contemplative space.