Art in the form of an optical illusion is taking the world on a mind-bending adventure after a video of the work titled Stairway to Heaven went viral.
South Africans, and those of us in the Western Cape might be particularly proud to know that the case of art is actually from the mind of one of our own.
South African land artist and sculptor, Strijdom van der Merwe, is the mind behind the staircase muse, which was first unveiled at the Hermanus Fine Arts Festival in 2016.
Since then the stairs have gone on a world tour of sorts, and a recreation of the original, which resides at Creation Farm in the Hemel and Aarde Valley, is currently taking viewers on a mind trip in Taiwan.
The Nanhui Art Project approached the 60-year-old local artist to recreate the work.
As per Business Insider, Van der Merwe expressed that he agreed to the concept but only if it were to be a second edition.
What makes the piece quite so magical is that in reality, it’s just a ladder. Perception truly is everything, and depending on where one stands, the optical illusion comes alive.
In essence, it’s the precise angling and viewpoint that make the ‘illusion’, well, an illusion. When viewed from the side, it’s a simple frame that jumps off the ground visually but doesn’t exude depth.
According to Focus Taiwan, Taiwanese Chou Sheng-hsien recreated the work. As the publication notes, it’s currently situated in the Dawu Township, Taitung County part of Taiwan.
Take a look here:
Picture: Nanhui Art Project