A living exploration of perception

As above.
So below.

One living reality.
An infinity of ways to see.

01The question

Do we really see
what is in front of us?

A thought by
Tomas De Bruyne

Two people can stand in the same place, looking at the same thing, and experience something entirely different. Between the world and what we see are our memories, emotions and expectations.

What happens when we become conscious of the lens?

Look.Perceive.Question.Become conscious.

The real installation · Shanghai

From intention
to experience.

Tomas speaks about creating The Art of Design in response to its place. A short encounter with the thinking behind the work, filmed with the installation in Shanghai.

Tomas De Bruyne · The Art of Design16 seconds · Original sound · English captions

Read the excerpt

“I did not want to bring a European object to Shanghai and just simply place it. But I equally did not want to imitate Chinese tradition. I wanted to create a dialogue between those two.”
Tomas De Bruyne

02Seven ways of seeing

The sphere is constant.
The lens is yours.

Choose a colour. Move the lens. Only the view through it changes. Notice what becomes visible to you.

A sphere of pink, coral and cream flowers beneath a translucent textile landscape

One living reality

Move the lens

01 — 07Crimson

Presence

I arrive.

Before anything can happen, we first have to be present. A quiet mind begins to notice what is already here.

A question to carry

What do you notice when you stop trying to find something?

There is no correct answer.
Only your way of seeing.

Colour is one lens. A word is another. These seven perspectives are invitations to look again.

03The thinking behind the work

M Focus, Shanghai · 2026

The space
between.

The first design decision was to leave space open.

M Focus offered transparency, movement and a subtle asymmetry. The installation grew from listening to that architecture. Empty space gives the sphere distance, the textiles lightness and the visitor room to discover.

Above. Below. And life between.

Above the sphere, a translucent textile landscape creates atmosphere. Below it, another continues the same visual language. They respond to one another as distinct landscapes, with one living form at the centre.

As Above, So Below is a relationship. Life exists in the space between.

The real floral sphere being installed at M Focus, with the production team beneath the textile canopy — From vision to living workInstallation in progress · M Focus

“The physical reality may be shared. The experience of that reality is personal.”
Tomas De Bruyne

04The observer completes the work

The eighth
perspective
is yours.

Seven perspectives are offered. Now bring your own. A colour, a thought, a feeling that remains.

The Art of Design08

My eighth perspective

A different way of seeing.

As above. So below.

Tomas De Bruyne

One work. A world of personal interpretations.

Continue the experience

The Art
of Design.

Tomas De Bruyne · Pelckmans

The installation opens a question.
The book takes you deeper.

Explore the thinking behind an experience: how observation, intuition, proportion, rhythm and conscious decisions can give a creation meaning. The same questions that shape this living installation continue on the page.

Signature Edition · Hardcover · Seven chapters

Discover the book & order your copy

Explore the book and ordering options at theartofdesign.be.

From floral to experience

Seeing can attract attention.
Feeling creates experience.

Flowers bring life, fragility, colour and emotion. For Tomas De Bruyne, they are part of a larger language: space, light, material and the human being who encounters them. The real work is what remains with you.

Tomas De Bruyne

Designer & Creative Director · Floral Experiences Worldwide

As above.So below.

Do we really seewhat is in front of us?

From intentionto experience.

The sphere is constant.The lens is yours.