Work submitted for the competition
"Best Interior Diploma".
Mental illnesses have accompanied mankind since time immemorial. In ancient Egypt, people with productive symptoms (for example, auditory or visual hallucinations) were considered the governors of the gods because they saw not only the temporal world, but also a fragment of the divine dimension. Overwhelmingly, however, people with the disorder were stigmatized.
We have encountered various descriptions in the pages of history practically since the dawn of time. In my work, I focused on the perspective of the lives of people with mental disorders living in today's chaotic society. There is a stigma associated with unconventional, outlier behavior, which I am trying to combat through my thesis project. Society tends to shy away from the unfamiliar and unknown, and gravitates to what is familiar and easy to grasp, especially when it comes to social norms. This perspective spawned in me the need to empathize the average Kowalski with those suffering from mental illnesses, and formed the basis for the PHREN EXPO F.20 project, showcasing the issues of schizophrenic disorders.
PHREN EXPO F.20
© Igor Tumanis
Taking the name apart, we can deduce that from the ancient Greek phren means mind; expo refers to the World Expositions of cultural, scientific and technological achievements held since the 18th century; and F.20 refers to the ICD-10 International Classification of Diseases and Health Problems, in which F20 stands for schizophrenia.
The project consists of:
- awritten work (describing an artistic vision of mental disorders for cognitive purposes),
- an interior design of the Schizophrenic Simulation Room,
- aphysical prototype reflecting the experiences of schizophrenics - a mini-realization of one of the interiors depicted in the project.
projection, arrangement
© Igor Tumanis
The work was further enriched by the design background - the concept of the Museum of Mental Disorders, providing the context of the place for the schizophrenia room.
The museum was additionally planned with four separate sections (arranged in ascending order of the percentage of cases worldwide) presenting: depression, bipolar affective disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Alzheimer's disease. Each zone was intended, in much the same way as the developed Schizophrenia Simulation Room, to show as realistically as possible the perspectives of patients and their loved ones experiencing a particular disorder.
The ways to present mental disorders remain for us further in the realm of a kind of abstraction. We can try to describe what our senses perceive, draw it or paint it, but none of the forms of communication will be either intense enough or reliable enough to allow us to experience what is going on in the mind of a sick person. A reliable, realistic message can be helped by modern media, which, by creating the right immersive environment, are able to bring us into another reality.
projection, floor
© Igor Tumanis
The PHREN EXPO F.20 project involves the creation of five interactive installations of an educational and cognitive nature. By affecting various senses, suggestiveness, they would be able to stimulate the imagination of the viewer and encourage him to reflect on the perspective of everyday life of people suffering from schizophrenia.
The tour begins with a representative entrance area inspired by Rorschach tests - the optical illusion created by the beam with masked lighting and mirrors alludes to "facing oneself." Then we move on to the Tranquility Zone - a place without excess stimuli. Here, groups of visitors receive information about the museum's rules and regulations, the safe way to use the installation, before entering the main hall. For the duration of the tour they are accompanied by a psychologist who acts as a guide. An abstract, parametric structure made of corrugated wooden ribs runs through the entire main hall. Its inspiration came from the structures of the brain. As a result, the structure made it possible to zone the room with the play of light and color, giving the appropriate atmosphere to the different sections.
projection of the ceiling (ribbing and cross-section A-A)
© Igor Tumanis
Interactive installations:
- AR mirrors - simulate visual illusions and delusions of personality, i.e. disorders that alter the perception of one's self. The user, standing in front of the mirror, is asked to take a personality test at the interaction panel. The result determines a match to the user's avatar, which is applied to the user as a character filter (augmented reality).
AR Mirrors
© Igor Tumanis
- Hooking TV - a zone showing visual and audio illusions equipped with a group of interactive monitors hooking users. The monitors track the movement of visitors and provoke them to do or not to do certain actions - which is ultimately supposed to end in a game with the hooked TV through an interaction panel.
Hitching TV
© Igor Tumanis
- Whispering Headphones - an interactive exhibit representing auditory illusions, imperative and presence. The headphones simulate schizophrenic whispers and intrusive, aggressive, suggestive voices urging users to do their bidding. A prototype of the exhibit was made for the diploma.
Whispering headphones
© Igor Tumanis
- Puzzling Traces - an installation that simulates illusions of presence and imperative. Traces controlled by artificial intelligence, symbolizing invisible "echoes" of real people, beckon users, encouraging them to play their game - performing tasks they invented and answering questions, promising a reward.
Riddle traces
© Igor Tumanis
- MRI mapping - a game using a panel of information next to a brain structure. Users get a spatial visualization of the brain on the screen analogous to a spatial mold on the wall. By "discovering" the malfunctioning parts of the brain on the screen (by answering questions) they discover pathological areas of the human brain, obtaining five code characters to unlock educational materials further down the installation corridor.
Mapping MRI
© Igor Tumanis
- Chandelier of schizophrenia - combines elements of psychiatry, psychology, design, programming, directing and music production. Visually, the prototype was intended to resemble a gateway to another reality - an abstract that, with its enigmatic nature, would make people curious and encourage them to use it. A video showing the experience of the prototype was created for the work.
Chandelier of schizophrenia; presentation of the prototype experience
© Igor Tumanis
Igor TUMANIS
Illustrations: © Author
