Seeing Through the Camera Obscura:
Constructing a Belief System
& Exploring Existence
Jiayue Wang
In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, the exponential proliferation of images, hyper-connected digital
landscapes, and algorithm-driven narratives have blurred the boundaries between reality and illusion. While
technological expansion continuously enlarges our world, individuals remain constrained by their finite perception and
cognitive limits. Thus, a stabilizing anchor— a belief system—becomes essential.
This project investigates the idea of instilling a personal belief system as a framework to systematize the dynamic
external information by redefining individuals’ internal perception of time and space. This is intended to serve as a
bridge that grounds external reality and internal consciousness, enabling individuals to navigate the overwhelming flux
of blurred realities. Much like a camera obscura, which inverts and reframes the external world through a lens, it
offers a coherent internal image at the imaging surface amidst the darkness in the original box.
Before Belief, There Was Sensing
In the early stage of my thesis project, I turned to the body as the first site of inquiry—seeking to re-enter the traditional Buddhist faith system through the five senses. Rather than explaining Buddhist’s belief, I chose to feel them. I documented these impressions through visual maps, sensory diaries…… This phase laid a raw, affective groundwork for the later construction of my personal belief system—a process where the body led before language followed.
Sight and Saying/映与述
A video installation exploring the translation between image and language through the camera obscura. *Here, viewing becomes an act of slow transmutation: image becomes meaning, meaning becomes light. It is both an observation device and a metaphorical engine—questioning whether we believe in what we see, or in the stories projected from it.
Fragmented Views, Chosen Beliefs：
Inspired by the principle of camera obscura, this project uses TouchDesigner and MIDI technology to build an interactive system where viewers can control the pinhole perspective. Each MIDI key is mapped to a distinct visual interpretation—a symbolic viewpoint, a shift in perception. Here, the viewer becomes the composer of vision, shaping not only what is seen, but how it is believed.
Where I Grounding：
Through writing, I explored grounding as a core phase in the construction of my belief system. This led to the creation of a video piece that uses visual language to ask: what anchors me in existence? It is both a visual inquiry and a way of locating the self.
Obscura: The First Belief Through an Egg
From the midterm exhibition’s installation, I chose the egg as the first symbolic material of my belief system, paired with a physical camera obscura. It reflects the ambiguous beginnings of belief—unformed, yet already in motion. Inviting viewers to engage in a mode of seeing that egg video between voyeurism and introspection.
Space & Time & Existence In the Obscura
This video uses the camera obscura as a structural metaphor to visualize how space, time, and existence unfold through perception. This work is a diagram in motion—an experiment in visualizing the inner mechanics of perception and belief.
Thesis Booklet
