To be veiled is, to some degree, to be unseen; a condition of both great attraction and repulsion. It is one of the most visible parts of a religion practiced by more than a billion people around the world, and increasingly in western countries. Hijab, the Arabic term for a Muslim womens dress, refers to more than just the headscarf. Many think of it as an infinitely visual thing-a piece of cloth, without understanding what it truly means.

The veil has always been a huge part of my life. By drawing upon my interest in veils, this thesis seeks to  explore further into the realms of veiling in its broadest context in hopes to understand, analyse and critique it in relevance to design. ‘As much as the veil is a fabric or a garment, the veil is also a concept. Veils can be beauty, architecture, deception, transformation, dream, metaphor, hallucination, silence and holiness. Veils may as well be ethers beyond consciousness, a sense of spirituality.’ 1

I wish to investigate the hidden dimensions and potentials of veiling through symbol, performance, materiality and surface. Veils will be looked at as a tangible and/or intangible; static and/or in motion phenomenon that teases our senses, our eyes in particular to shape perceptible shifts in the way we perceive and encounter our environment.

Essentially, this body of research will examine the veil as one that alters conditions of visibility to reveal and conceal relationships between the artificial & the natural and mundane & sublime to highten the sense of the viewer. The mini projects undertaken are categorised individually to form an area of interest within the topic of veiling, all, strongly related to each other.

By exploring the possibilities of veiling as a methodology for the production of space, the aim of this thesis is to produce interiors that promote a sense of shelter/belonging, where one can ponder in realms of ethereal to encounter sensorious moments in a state of separation from the everyday world.

1. Heath, Jennifer. ‘The veil, visible and invisible spaces’.

P/s: I am slowly uploading my thesis. Click here to read more about it.

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Categories: architecture/interior, in my studio, thesis, uni stuff

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