Patricia Pisters - Circles, Triangles and Squares: Psychedelics at the Limits of Perception

Psychedelic experience is analyzed through the lens of film theory, particularly the work of Deleuze and Guattari. Cinema serves as a tool for accessing non-human perceptions and understanding the shifts in time-space coordinates often reported during psychedelic states. By examining geometric motifs like circles, triangles, and squares within film segments, the analysis highlights how artistic visual representations can mirror the internal dynamics of altered states, where the subjective flow of experience meets objective, abstract realities. This perspective bridges the gap between phenomenology and aesthetic theory, suggesting that the psychedelic experience functions as a form of perception in the midst of things, beyond mere observation. The presentation also draws parallels between psychedelic aesthetics and the alchemical tradition, framing both as frameworks for traversing the limits of human perception and exploring transcendent, non-human dimensions of existence.