Illusion
Bryce Watanasoponwong

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistent one.” – Albert Einstein

What is reality? How do we know what is real and what is not? One of the strangest aspects of dreaming is that we are not aware of it while it is happening. Though it is different from reality, they both allow us, as human beings, to express the complexity of emotions. When facing disappointments, we often try to hide negative feelings with things we find pleasing or, at least, familiar. Our egos focus on the narrative of our reality. But when we give in to the story, we fall into a dream-like reality, moving through life as if we are in a dream. This state is unhealthy for us, hindering our growth and journey as human beings.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, I felt what many people felt: frustrated and trapped. Without my “story” as a photographer and a traveller, I experienced emotional instability, and I felt lost; I was in a daze. After a while, I began to wonder if that fog was not the true nature of the world when we are not distracted without endless day-to-day activities.

Illusion is a photographic series that ponders the nature of reality with the sense of unreal and unstable feelings during the lockdown. It aims to remind us to be mindful of our emotions in reality so that whenever an unforeseen event strikes, our mental well-being will help us cope with it.

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