THE BOUNDARIES OF SIGHT

In The Transparency Society, Byung-Chul Han gives a warning that the obsession with openness in contemporary culture leads not to deeper understanding, but to a loss of depth, mystery, and trust. An impulse for opacity unfolds tension between what is seen, and what remains just out of reach.
Center
Living Environment
Independent & Critical Design
E18
van Abbehuis
Bilderdijklaan 19
5611 NG

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Free access

Hosted by

Teo Rhe
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Wheelchair Friendly Fully wheelchair accessible

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THE BOUNDARIES OF SIGHT

A child standing before a bookshelf can only reach the lowest shelf. The others, though clearly visible, remain physically inaccessible. This simple moment becomes a metaphor for how perception is conditioned by bodily scale, spatial hierarchy, and learned behaviors. The project examines how our view of the world is not merely optical, but fundamentally shaped by our physical orientation, social norms, and architectural structures. It reflects on the tension between what is seen and what remains just out of reach - questioning the boundaries of access, legibility, and the presumed neutrality of space.

Philosopher Édouard Glissant calls for “the right to opacity,” arguing that not everything must be made transparent or fully knowable in order to be respected. Similarly, Byung- Chul Han, in The Transparency Society, warns that the obsession with visibility and openness in contemporary culture leads not to deeper understanding, but to a loss of depth, mystery, and trust. Visibility becomes control; clarity becomes violence. This project resists that impulse, embracing the opaque as a space where complexity, difference, and dignity can persist.

Hosted by Teo Rhe

bureau parso are a curator and design duo consisting of Teo Rhe (Seoul, South Korea) and Sheyang Li (France)

Colofon

Curator
Teo Rhe
Curator
Sheyang Li
Education
Iris Desauw-Gorgen & Maxime Lehnen
Communication
Mika Scheepsma
Artistic Director
Frederique Scholtes