“Our perceptions are fallible. We sometimes see what isn’t there. We are prey to optical illusions. Occasionally we hallucinate. We are error-prone.”
– Carl Sagan

You live in a three-dimensional [3D] world where your senses are constantly absorbing information to communicate back to the brain for it to interpret. With your sense of sight, your brain receives data like depth, shading, lighting, and position. When you look at something two-dimensional [2D] like an image or a photograph, your brain can be fooled when you are not receiving the same type of information you would receive from the real, three-dimensional world. Your brain fills in the gaps of what could be missing in 2D by relying on the information your brain has gathered from real-world experience and perception. This is how we can be fooled by optical illusions. Even when we are told how or why we are seeing an illusion, we cannot make the conscious choice to override it.

Frame of Mind | An Illusion Experience features 29 hand-painted 3D scenes that let you step into many different worlds. The paintings are in the style of “trompe l’oeil,” a French term that literally translates to “deceives the eye.” The painting scenes appear to be popping out of the walls, coming to life. And when you pose with these paintings (get your camera ready!), you can become part of the scene, too.

Look out for other optical illusions and see how your brain can play tricks on you. Can you override what your brain interprets to see the illusion for what it really is?

Step into a new frame of mind and find out!