Made You Look – Figure versus ground
Saina Koohnavard, 2013
Visual dominance. Our human perception, that with great authority, powerfully influences and controls all of our senses. In turn, our minds try to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions in what we are experiencing, may that be in a chaotic world, a cacophony in colour or vibrations in patterns. This collection explores disturbances in pattern and colour and how these elements can deceive the eye. Playing with elements such as opacity, layers and transparency the nine outfits presented attempt to explore the principles of Gestalt psychology to create disorder and confusion. Significantly, the collection discusses our perception of pattern and colour and how with small measures these components can outsmart our senses, highlighting the importance of psychological methods and techniques in design rather than scientific or mathematical.
In collaboration with photographer Theresa Marx, hair and make-up artist Emike Szanto and model Michelle Hall (Stockholmsgruppen), the collection aims to convey the visually interactive qualities of garments where pieces engage, and are in direct dialogue, with the viewer.