CIMG4582 P demonstrates an optical illusion

CIMG4582 P demonstrates an optical illusion

P and M at that time were making face casts from alginate, and making masks from those face casts. (A couple of months later they made a cast of my face, which I documented here.) Here, P holds a face cast he made. The cast is convex from one side and concave from the other. The interesting thing is that you can’t tell by looking at it which is which. That is, if you are looking at it from the concave side — i.e. if you are looking into the inside of the cast — your brain quickly convinces you that you are looking at the outside! So for example, in this picture, it’s the inside of the cast that’s turned towards the viewer, but it looks as if it’s the outside.

An even more interesting optical illusion is attained if the viewer closes one eye (although it’s possible to attain it with both eyes, it’s harder). Then as the viewer turns his/her head, it looks as if the mask turns its head too, its gaze following the viewer!

New Year’s Eve 2006/2007 party at M and P’s house, December 2006