Imaging space: an appendix to experience

The purpose of this Master’s degree by thesis and project is to investigate a body of lens-based imagery generated while living in Tokyo. Through this investigation, the thesis analyzes how meaning is derived from the cognitive, perceptual and emotional experiences of living in different cultural and built environments as experienced by this American national, while living in Tokyo, Japan and later Melbourne, Australia. The cognitive, perceptual and emotional experiences are theoretically defined, providing a basis for further exploration within a wider analysis of historical and contemporary perspectives of Japan’s built environment and its evolving technological infrastructures, and how these factors shape daily experiences. This thesis proposes that the different, latent spatial and temporal experiences of living in and negotiating Tokyo’s built environment with its interfacing technological networks, including transport and communication, unconsciously affected not only my technical approach to image making but also the choice of subject matter, the composition, and more complexly a new exploration of spatial and temporal consciousness. Drawing on research into the effects that constructed spaces and technological infrastructures have on people’s spatial and temporal consciousness, I created a new project within a Melbourne underground thoroughfare, linking a train station with the interior of Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD). This installation responded to the specific spatial and temporal experiences of commuters entering and exiting the city through this subterranean passage. A review of this installation, which explores possibilities for the physical and sensory integration of digital information, including web-based content, into the transitory spaces of city travel, forms the conclusion of this thesis.