Three monkeys... well, maybe four

“Three Monkeys... well, maybe Four” is a photographic series inspired by Mr. Wilson, a tourist lost in the jungle for 19 days.

Hunger, fear, heat, and isolation caused severe hallucinations, distorting his sense of reality. This project explores how such factors can affect our perception.

Technological tools like microscopes, infrared cameras, drones, and space rockets allow us to see the world in new ways. However, consciousness—our clear mental representation of reality—has long been overlooked scientifically due to the lack of experimental tools and remains a subject of intense debate in philosophy and religion.

While a complete definition of consciousness remains elusive, neuroscience is beginning to uncover its intricacies. Altered states of consciousness—such as dreams, hypnosis, and hallucinations—offer revolutionary insights into our perception of reality.

This series documents a two-week experiment in the jungle between Guatemala and Belize. To capture both “lucid” and “delirious” states, two cameras were used: one capturing spectral light and the other capturing temperature variations of the same environment.

Using altered states of consciousness and recent discoveries in cognitive neuroscience as a starting point, the camera becomes an exploration tool, playing with the boundaries of representation and hallucination.