Distorja : the depth of storytelling : a practice-based investigation of spatial immersion through tunnel books and shadow imagery

Abstract

Storytelling is an innate human capability distinguished through time and space. A narrative’s meaning and interpretation is based on an individual’s personal, social and cultural experiences and influences. This research focuses on creating an immersive narrative experience based on tunnel books and shadow puppetry with the aim of investigating the viewer-space relationship through an installation. The study focuses on the media of shadow puppetry, silhouette art, and tunnel books and the ways in which they have been adopted within various storytelling modes, with particular analysis being given to the relationship between their spatial and illustrative elements. Close analysis on the works of Christian Boltanski, Lotte Reiniger and Andrea Dezsö is made in order to develop an understanding of how shadow imagery and the illusion of depth contribute to the immersive story experience. The project is based on repurposing an illustration’s two-dimensionality within a three-dimensional interactive space to provide the viewer with a life-size, interactive story space. Space is a psychological construct, dependent on the individual’s physical and emotive experiences with it. Its historical and cultural influences are subject to interpretation over the course of time. This project aims at transforming an exhibiting gallery space into a sequential story-based world, within the realm of Distorja. Various experiments were carried out in this research in order to explore the qualities of various material that could contribute to the final work’s execution. The research is based on results gathered from focus groups and an open-ended interview with a set designer, with the scope of analysing a structure’s dependency on its physical and perceptual space and also the relationship with the viewer-participant. The project iterates the brainstorming, research, design and developmental stages undergone throughout the course of this project, with the intention of creating a relatable and immersive, three-dimensional story experience based on shadows and illusionary depth.