Dark matter(s)

Abstract

This dissertation explores the interaction between light and colour in relation to darkness, and the sensorial outcome generated through this amalgamation. Moreover, this ethnographic research revolves around my own personal phobia, nyctophobia, the fear of darkness. This study aims to transform repulsive matter into an artefact. Viewers experience an interactive walkthrough which can only work in pitch darkness. Extensive interviews were conducted as part of the research methodology in order to acquire different perspectives on the subject. Participants were chosen specifically on the basis of their fear of darkness and on their professional competence related to the subject area. In addition, personal observations were carried out in the form of photographic documentation, sketching and note taking. The final project responds to the overall knowledge and findings that emerge from research, and relates them to my own personal views and notions regarding this fear. This ethnographic study expanded on the interaction between light and colour, both as tools of communication as well as artistic media. Furthermore, it is beyond the scope of this research to make viewers, including myself, abandon their fear of darkness as the primary aim is to encourage viewers to perceive darkness in a different light.