Author: Lexi Lai
Date: Spring 2026
Class: Independent art program
Medium: 8.5”x11” paper, permanent marker, electronic tablet during the design process. Paper stock, iPhone flashlight, semigloss wall in the final shoot, shot with iPhone camera.
Objective: The project only permitted light to be shone through paper to alter the perception of depth on a flat wall by projecting light onto the wall(s).
Problem 1: Precedent designs such as optical illusions don’t properly explore the availability (limitation?) of light to aid in the perception of depth.
Solution 1: The bulk of my time was spent exploring different methods of eliciting depth via light shone on a rigid sheet of paper, as detailed on the next page. After several experiments, I discovered the closeness of objects to the light source determines the focus/blur intensity as well as the richness of the shadow, which I used in guiding the viewer’s focus.
Problem 2: Light shining on objects of differing distances resulted in size and focus irregularities, making the story the image was trying to tell less believable.
Solution 2: The most difficult part of the image was the light’s impact on the size and position of the actors and the setting itself. The religious setting needed to be in focus to draw the viewer’s attention, whereas the conquistador and archer are progressively closer to the viewer and, hence, increasingly blurred. Sizing and blur intensity became critical to show perspective.
Problem 3: I wanted to cast an image in which light was not the focus but merely an instrument to prompt the viewer to pause and wonder about perspective and meaning.
Solution 3: I purposely chose the setting of The Conquistador’s Homecoming to ask the viewer to pause and question what they are seeing. The primary focus is clearly on the religious site at center of the image, backlit by the light’s reflection as if the sun has just set over the blurred hills on the horizon. The conquistador at left appears to be returning home, shield and sword in an unguarded position, unaware an archer is trained on him. Out of focus because of a shallow dept of field signifying he is closer to us, the archer possesses a tense energy with his bow drawn, in stark contrast to the passive nature of the conquistador.
