The experience of déjà vu and/ or the unheimlich is closely related to something once very familiar to us, which can be perceived as a peculiar combination of feeling familiar and yet unfamiliar. In this presentation, I will discuss the experience of déjà vu and the unheimlich that aroused during a period of instability caused by periodic moves, and to further shed light on the experience of facing the issue of displacement according to my own experience. According to Freud (1995), the constant repetition of a similar situation or experienced 'something’ considered identical by reason of looking alike can somehow increase an individual’s psychological uncertainty, which thus, could lead to the uncanny. I shall argue the similarity of the configuration of similar objects or furniture in different places is an important means of building a sense of familiarity with the feeling of 'home'. Such a structural similarity is key to evoking an inexplicable impression of being in between. I will take my installation Phantom Project: Flat 506, Frobisher House, Dolphin Square, London, SW1V 3LL (2022), which as an example to further clarify my ideas related to déjà vu and the unheimlich that relate to the issue of displacement associated with being away from home, which demonstrates that structural similarity is an effective way to evoke a strong sense of familiarity. Besides, visual and psychological uncertainty can easily place individuals in situations where they could have uncertain feelings of being reality and fantasy, real and unreal, familiar and yet unfamiliar.

Authors:
Lihong Liu, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom

About the Presenter(s)
Lihong Liu is an artist and a Ph.D. candidate in Fine Art at the University of the Arts London. Her work including drawings, sculptures and installations. She specifically focuses on the displacement that occurs when one is away from one’s home.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lihong-liu-a293ab194/

Additional website of interest
https://researchers.arts.ac.uk/2512-lihong-liu

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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