Deep Dive – Urban Life
Heartbeat of the city: How urban spaces guide our emotions – and how we revitalize them
Cities are more than just places; they are dynamic systems that shape our thoughts and emotions – and are shaped by them. The artwork series “Deep Dive – Urban Life” sheds light on the complex relationship between the urban environment and our inner world. How does urban design affect our perception? How do architecture, light and spaces reflect our emotions and our urban well-being?
How urban spaces influence our behavior and well-being
Scientific findings show that urban spaces influence our behavior and well-being. But how are cities designed in the first place? This process is highly emotional: Architects, residents and political decision-makers bring different expectations, values and emotions to the table, which clash when planning cities and result in conflicts or creative ideas.
The invisible signals of the city: from dark alleys to colorful parks
Dark alleyways can symbolize insecurity and exclusion, while open squares and colourful parks invite relaxation and social exchange. At the same time, our perception has an impact on urban design. Our emotions, from fear to confidence, determine how we experience places and actively shape them – through use, design and interaction.
Designing and experiencing cities: A reciprocal relationship
“Deep Dive – Urban Life” invites you to delve deeper into this web of urban space and the human psyche. It shows that we are not only passively influenced by cities, but also shape them through our thoughts, feelings and actions. Just as we shape our inner world, we also create the city that surrounds us.
The visual design of “Deep Dive – Urban Life”
In this series, digital techniques and classical painting merge to express the dynamic relationship between the city and people. First, digital structures are created, which are then reworked by hand with traditional oil paints and further built up and deepened. Neon oil paints set luminous accents – they pulsate, flicker and captivate the eye, much like the chaotic life of the city itself.
This technique tells the story of an endless interaction: our thoughts and emotions shape the city, but it also shapes our experience and feelings. It is a constant dialog in which urban spaces and individual perception merge into a whole. This symbiosis becomes a symbol of how we shape our own thoughts – always in search of balance between inner chaos and outer order, between new impulses and established structures.
Inspiring sources:
- Lederbogen, F., et al. (2011). “City living and urban upbringing affect neural social stress processing in humans”.
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin “Effects of urban living environments on mental health in adults”
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Emotional-Health-Oriented Urban Design: A Novel Collaborative Deep Learning Framework for Real-Time Landscape Assessment by Integrating Facial Expression Recognition and Pixel-Level Semantic Segmentation
- Editorial compilation of articles: Dr. Nina Margie’s “Emotions and the City”
