The Overview Effect
Group Project - Max Park, Siyu Guo, Daniel Brandt and Shuyuan ZhengThe “Overview Effect”, coined by Frank White in the 80s, is a well researched psychological phenomenon reported by several astronauts when looking back at Earth from space. Yaden et al. (2016) suggests the following description for the effect: “a state of awe with self-transcendent qualities, precipitated by a particularly striking visual stimulus”, which can bring about transformative introspective change within some individuals.
The inflation and brightness of the light emitted by the jacket, worn by the student in space, is directly proportional to the teacher’s breathing on earth.
During a meditation ritual, the teacher places a stretch sensor around their abdomen to monitor breathing through expansion and contraction. Two buttons allow them to calibrate the sensor to their inhalation and exhalation.
This object and performance extrapolates the world we currently live in, with the likes of Virgin Galactic offering tickets to space-tourists starting at $250,000. Over the coming decades, as this industry grows and technological advancements make space tourism increasingly economically viable, this price will lower to the point where members of the audience, you the reader, or I will potentially be in a position to afford it.
This project culminated in an audiovisual performance at The Yard Theatre in Hackney, held on the 21st January 2024 with over 200 attendees.