CITY OF ILLUSIONS

The ‘illusion’ is paradoxical by nature:  the awareness of the unreal sticks together with the acceptance of the seemingly real. Within an illusion, construction and destruction are inseparable, creating a space between the layers of belief and the mechanics behind it. By acknowledging his part in sustaining the paradox of illusion the spectator has the possibility to subvert the power relationship between him/her and the image. The illusion becomes a space where a basic freedom of partaking may be regained.  Suspended between knowing and believing, it is a ‘belief in creation’, constantly being co-constructed, never complete.

The City of Illusions is a space of research and knowledge built around the concept of illusion. Together we will build a "city” in the course of a two-week project: each participant constructs his/hers own research site (a house, a garden, a speaker’s corner, a dwelling, a theoretical "framework", a "body" of research...) within the city and takes up a responsibility in the theoretical, social and performative functioning of this city. The growth of the site and its emerging structure are themselves object of our attention; they can be discussed in terms of urbanism, performativity and of knowledge production. The social codes of invitation, hospitality, narration, etc are of special interest to us. They can be used as hubs of communication, information exchange and ultimately knowledge accumulation. The City of Illusions is itself an illusion, a performative proposition that reveals its own making and brings to attention the powers involved in collaboration and information exchange.

The research on illusion making can have the practical knowledge of theatrical and cinematic illusions as a starting point. In more theoretical terms we will discuss illusion in its relation to image theory. What are the common properties between illusion and mimesis, between illusion and the distancing effect? How does illusion relate to representation, to simulacra? Participants are invited to contribute texts and media for the City Library in advance, from which regular reading sessions will originate.

Our initial thinking and practice of illusions can be extended towards identifying illusionist strategies and tactics in the urban landscape. We will connect the research developed in the City of Illusions to the actual urban reality and question how a play with illusion can become a political tool in the urban context.