Nothing Is As It Seems

By Kim Rescate and Ana Pines

San Diego is in for a special treat as the North American premiere spot for the travel exhibition, ILLUSION, on show at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center until Jan. 19, 2015. The exhibition was created by Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin and combines techniques used by magicians and explored by neuroscientists to uncover the many ways our minds are fooled by sensory deception.

ILLUSION is curated by psychologist, author and magician Richard Wiseman, and researched by deception artist Paul Gleeson. There are more than 20 installations that will distort your senses and mystify logical thinking. One of our favorites is, “YOU. HERE. NOW.” A dynamic portrait is created representing the viewer utilizing visual imagery from select news organizations on the web. You have to pause for a bit to allow the scanning of the local news Web sites before you notice your image emerge. Your image will be constructed with several tiny fragments that are in a continuous state of flux. Snap a pic with your camera and view it after. The experience of the exhibit will remind you that not everything is as it seems. Adjacent to the exhibition is the Illusion Playground, a collection of the Fleet’s hands-on, interactive exhibits. We attended the ILLUSION VIP Premiere Party May 8 where we got exclusive access to the exhibition and treated to a special performance by an illusionist along with food, drinks and music. For more information about this mind-bending new exhibition, visit www.rhfleet.org/exhibitions/illusion.