Depending on the point of view, both ends coincide and make it look like a closed figure. The interposition, orientation and perspective create a contradiction of the space that makes us perceive something that is not. This way, the vase becomes more than just a functional object, turning into a decorative piece that plays with perception. You can place it anywhere inside your home, as its clean, simple shape can pleasantly interfere with both a modern and traditional decor. Just put some water inside the crazy triangle vase and watch how the flower blooms in the company of an awesome optical illusion!

Sorry for such a long intro, just wanted to inform you I’m back now (and how last few posts were set to automatically appear each day, and were written few days ago ;). It’s also why it took so much time to get your comments approved. Now that I have charged my batteries once again, let me roll up my sleeves and continue sharing some good stuff! For today I bring you two posters that feature Missing Pieces illusion we featured some time ago. Seems that Chupa-Chups company jumped the optical illusion billboard wagon as well!

Bourdon Optical Illusion

There’s a new optical illusion in town, and its name is “Bourdon Illusion“. The Bourdon  illusion is the apparent “bentness” of the straight edge of a figure consisting of two elongated triangles arranged apex to apex.

Like you see in the image on your left, the upper side of the left-lower triangle is actually aligned with the upper side of the right-upper triangle, the former appears to tilt counterclockwise while the latter clockwise. What we are seeing here is “seemingly bent” type of illusion. But why?

Further, I’ve added three rather subtle illusions, each showing bent lines. In Bourdon’s illusion, to the left, the straight left hand edge looks bent again. In Humphrey’s figure, (central object), the straight, loose line touching the corner of the cube looks bent. In the figure to the right, the straight line interrupted by the corner looks bent.

I don’t think we really understand any of these illusions, and since they are not very dramatic, you don’t notice them very often. There’s probably a different explanation for each. For example, both the left and middle figures show a bent line that is the backbone of two triangles meeting at a point, so you might think “Hello, we’re getting somewhere”. But then you notice that the lines bend in different directions relative to the triangles inside each illusion.

The Bourdon Illusion, Humphrey's Figure and Corner Illusion