If I were to create an exhibition for this project, I would set it out as a maze. I would do this because by creating a maze, I will be able to confuse the viewer and perhaps make them feel more uncomfortable, especially if the images are towering over them.
I want to set it out like a maze to represent a person's mind. The purpose of a maze is to challenge the visitor to find the means of passing through and escaping, but in this case, they are escaping the mind of someone who suffers from a fear, or multiple fears.
However, the mind is not just a normal maze, it is more of a labyrinth. A labyrinth is a circular maze. A labyrinth is a right brain task. It involves intuition, creativity, and imagery. With a maze many choices must be made and an active mind is needed to solve the problem of finding the center. With a labyrinth there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not. A more passive, receptive mindset is needed. The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual path.
Here is a rough design as to how I would like the exhibition to look. I built this through Artsteps. However, I was unable to make a circular type room, but if I were to create an actual exhibition inspired by a labyrinth, I would be able to make the inner walls curved to make it a more circular maze.
The images are large and overpowering, designed to disorientate the viewer further. The blank walls will be filled with text - stories and facts about phobias and how they can change a persons life. This is to make the viewer feel more empathetic to the people who suffers with a phobia. Unfortunately, before I could complete my online exhibition, it had deleted itself and I could not continue with it further.
However, I was able to design my exhibition space using photoshop.
Here is the floor plan I created for my exhibition. The plan was made through Artsteps, but unfortunately it did not allow me to add any images (forbidden notifications each time I tried to add or change images and each exhibition deleted after closing), so I then created a walk through of the exhibition through Photoshop.
As the viewer walks around the exhibition space, they will also be able to carry around the photo-book I created. This way, they cannot escape the images and the phobias, they must interact with the work to understand the meaning.
As you walk down the corridor and turn left, you will see the images ‘Necro’ and ‘Odígisi’, along with some information about the images.
When you turn left again down into another maze corridor, you will see the image ‘Aichmirós’ and when you reach the dead end on the far left, you will be between the image ‘Agora’ and a mirror that will reflect the image and yourself. Will it make you experience the phobia?
Once you retrace your steps back to the cross path, you will then see the images ‘Nosos’ and ‘Ýpnos’ if you keep walking, the only way you cango is the next right hand turn.
Once you have reached the far right side of the exhibition, you will see the final images, ‘Genu’ and ‘Spheco’ along with it’s reflection, and yours. Once again, you much retrace your steps to find the exit as there is only one way in and one way out.
I created a maze-like exhibition to make it slightly disorientating and make it more uncomfortable for the viewer, as around every corner and at every dead end, it a new phobia. This is to represent the dead ends people may feel when they have to face said phobia. I wanted to set the exhibition out to replicate a maze, or Labyrinth. I would do this because by creating a maze, I will be able to confuse the viewer and perhaps make them feel more uncomfortable, especially if the images are towering over them.
I want to set it out like a maze to represent a person's mind. The purpose of a maze is to challenge the visitor to find the means of passing through and escaping, but in this case, they are escaping the mind of someone who suffers from a fear, or multiple fears.
However, the mind is not just a normal maze, it is more of a labyrinth. A labyrinth is a circular maze. A labyrinth is a right brain task. It involves intuition, creativity, and imagery. With a maze many choices must be made, and an active mind is needed to solve the problem of finding the centre. With a labyrinth there is only one choice to be made. The choice is to enter or not. A more passive, receptive mindset is needed. The choice is whether or not to walk a spiritual path.
The dark corridors features some text, the text that is on the wall in Greek appears to be the right way up, but the English translation is upside down. The only way to see the English text the correct way round is to look into the mirror above. This is to represent the fear of being upside down/the fear of the upside down, although there is not a name for this fear, people do suffer from it.
I have achieved my goals within this project, I wanted to create a project that provoked fear and empathy for those who suffer from the fears displayed within the images. The responses from my images have been very mixed, but exactly in the way I wanted them to be – some people struggled to look at the images for a long time, found them disturbing and it made them feel quite uneasy. Others realised that what they were feeling is just a small portion of what people who suffer with the phobia may feel on a daily basis, so emphasised with those who suffer.