Illusory Truth Effect

"The Illusory Truth Effect" explores the tendency to believe repeated information, using photography to visualize ambiguous truths and highlight its manipulation of reality. The project examines photography's inherent fallibility through non-Photoshop techniques, aiming to confuse viewers by showcasing distorted truth.

  • "The photograph has a notoriously contentious history. Since its early 19th-century conception, it has bridged the gap between the emotional subjectivity of fine art and the factualism of journalistic media.

    Initially, photography was accepted as a science, creating honest, impartial replications of the world. Unlike other art forms, it used light in its purest form, establishing the precedent that images created with a camera were unbiased and nonfiction. However, contemporary artists now complicate this notion, using photography to challenge its association with truth-telling.

    Yong Min Park addresses this issue in his series Illusory Truth Effect, which blends truth and falsehood to question the photograph's role. His work explores memory and how photographs have become accepted stand-ins for it. The series title references a psychological phenomenon where repeated exposure leads to believing false information, reflecting Park's aim to challenge accepted beliefs."

    from ISO magazine Spring 2024 "If I Could Witness Anew"