out of focus: training on peripheral vision as alternative way of perception
2025
"Out of focus" inverts the logic of vision. Inspired by architectural theorists like Peter Zumthor and Juhani Pallasmaa, and artists such as James Turrell and J.M.W. Turner, this interactive work challenges the primacy of ocular focus. Instead of clarity following gaze, sharpness recedes. Through eye-tracking, the viewer’s intent to “see” becomes the very force that blurs. What remains visible is not the object of vision, but the surrounding atmosphere—the peripheral, the aura. Echoing theories of embodied perception, the program reframes vision as a haptic, spatial experience rather than a linear act of targeting. Like light in fog or memory in space, meaning emerges diffusely, at the edges. The project resists the clinicality of cognitive focus, advocating instead for a poetics of seeing—one that trusts what lies just beyond reach.
Perspectival Space and Peripheral Vision: The all-encompassing
and instantaneous perception of atmospheres calls for a specific manner
of perception – unconscious and unfocused peripheral perception. This
fragmented percept of the world is actually our normal reality, although
we believe that we perceive everything with precision. (Juhani Pallasmaa)
Try it out yourself: https://eye-track-kyvs.vercel.app/
To begin, click the project link to open the experience in your browser (Google Chrome works best). When prompted, grant access to your camera to enable eye-tracking. The calibration phase will follow: nine red dots will appear. As you look at each dot, click it when you feel the blurred sphere is centered over it. This helps train the system to understand your gaze. Once calibration is complete, the work begins—move your eyes freely across the image. Notice how the area you focus on becomes blurred, while the periphery sharpens. Let your gaze wander and discover what usually stays unseen.
