The Man in the Moon: Meaning in Random Pattern

Why is it that when we look up at the sky our eyes interpret the clouds as images we connect to? There goes a flock of sheep or indeed a bus load of sheep, I swear I even once saw a killer sheep (strange connection I know). Or when we look up at the stars, in the constellations we see great bears and little bears, a big dipper, heroes and bulls. And why is it that we see a man in the moon?

I think our minds construct meaning and mental associations out of arbitrary pattern to transport us there, to allow our imagination to exist in that place that cannot be physically reached however surreal it may be. This is why in my own shadow screen design, ‘Playtime’ the child figures depicted are not intended to leap out at you at first glance; rather they are hidden amongst the rising balloons. The eye therefore discovers them only after a prolonged gaze as if conjured from the imagination.

We cannot physically return to childhood, to those playful afternoons of long shadows but this scene hopefully transports the imagination there to reignite that same wonder.

Dele Adeyemo
www.pidginperfect.com