3 Insights from a simple Social Experiment using an Abstract Picture

It all started with an abstract picture of an object at my home.

My 4-year old was playing with the Guy Fawkes mask and threw it on the floor and moved on for another game. Looking at the mask there in the light, with a reflection of the same, I took a quick picture on my phone and posted the below image to my friends and acquaintances asking them to "caption it".

Thus started the "social experiment".

Although this was a simple social experiment, it did remind me of the Ink Blot and Rorschach Test. Read more about it here

"Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes....Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is the emancipation of the mind. It is an exploration into unknown areas."

― Arshile Gorky

It is very interesting to see that when we see abstract images, we tend to extract the subjective infinite into it. I have used the abstract image activity in many of my leadership and coaching sessions and found very surprising interpretations of the images shown. It is all about how a person pours their subjective story into this abstract image and make it a conduit of their story - their view of the world.

Here is an example of what I vividly remember. Over a decade back, some of us did this activity together and that's when some of us as colleagues were coming out of a crisis situation at work which had huge impact on all of us. I had an image of an old dilapidated home in a rural setting. Everything in the image was completely deteriorating. Interestingly, one participant looked at the image and said "I relate myself to the lightning rod on the house, its my job to protect and save the house". Most of us did not notice the lightning rod in the picture at all. In fact, I did not till this came up.

Now, let's see what responses I received to this image of Guy Fawkes mask on the floor.

The first type of responses are starting with the "here and now" or rather "you are here" type of responses with themes around "what they see" or the general theme of "reflection".

• Lord Ganesha.
• Ganesha in the new normal.
• Self-Reflection
• Reflect intensely & your pure image will teach back
• Reflection with external resources stands incomplete and impermanent!
• Reflection is key
• Reflection. Perspective. Mirror.

And, yes, some did figure out that it was "Guy Fawkes" or famously known as the "V for Vendetta" guy.

For us, this Guy Fawkes mask image was the "sign" they were looking for to dig a little deeper and reveal a little more of their "inner state". For some it could be just plain "imagination". Yet, it is interesting to see a theme of sorts in the responses here (all quoted verbatim).

• Fake falls!!!!
• Fake it till you make it.
• Behind the facade.
• Meeting myself.
• Uncover your passion.
• Unearth the mask to find yourself!
• Reality is different from perception.
• Removed the mask to be real.
• Keep your ears to the ground.
• Its time to throw away the pretense.
• Listen more, speak less.
• Whatever be your achievements, keep yourself grounded.
• I was thrown by someone to be picked and worn by someone else!!
• If you dont like what you see in the mirror.... Dont change the mirror..  Instead, try changing yourself.

Now, let's see how far does the rabbit hole go ...

Some responses were indeed going down the figurative "rabbit hole". They were very intriguing - some revealing in nature and others had a ring of catharsis to them.

Here we go, the final set of statements which people responded to the Guy Fawkes image (all responses are quoted verbatim):

• Who am I?
• The mourning.
• Connecting.
• Broken Soul.
• Broken wings! Try till you fly again.
• A bird ready to fly with additional resources!
• Yin Yang with a non-corruptible core (you is the center).
• Look within yourself and introspect. The quality of my communication with others depends on how I communicate with myself, see myself, hear myself and think.
• Two perspectives, both are true. But only ONE is real.
• What face do you want me to wear today?

There you go, those are the results of a small social experiment. After eliciting so many responses, to be authentic I should share what's on my mind too. Here is something I wrote a while back around the same theme.

The Masked Man
~ Anil Santhapuri

Behind thousand 
expressions
is hidden a mask,

Behind the mask
are hidden 
multitude faces,

Behind each face
is a mask
hiding many secrets,

I have spent a
thousand lifetimes,
searching for my 
true self,

Unveiling one 
mask after another 
I have gotten trapped
in the stories of stories,

Not sure any longer if 
I am adding veils over
another or unveiling them,

If all of my masks
are lies, then where
is the truth - about me?

Am i wakefully dreaming?
Or, dreaming in a dream?

The masks are so
familiar and has made
a thousand acquaintances
and friends,

I am longing for a 
moment’s moment 
where all my masks 
are unveiled and dropped,

And, I walk naked 
in my existence 
in the streets of life 
as a complete stranger,

A stranger to others,
Nonetheless, revealing 
my true self to myself,
like a rotund moon 
staring at itself in a 
placid lake.

Now, your turn.

What did you see in the image? Tell me ...

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If you have enjoyed reading this blog, here are links to my earlier blogs.

Do check them out:

1. 5 Lessons from 50 Days of Daily Gratitude Practice
2. 9 Powerful Questions for Building Resilience
3. Rise of Phoenix: 8 Strategies for Successful Corporate Turnarounds
4. Oh Leader, Where are you?
5. 3 Life Lessons from a Beach Butterfly 
6. 3 Focus areas for First 90 Days on a Job  
7. 3 Tips for pursuing Excellence through Deliberate Practice
8. 5 Traits of Exceptional Managers and Leaders      
9. 3 Reminders for Work and Character Development
10. 5 Leadership Lessons from Rumi’s Poetry
11. The Supreme Art of Being a Serving Leader
12. I am a Leader and a Coach who ..
13. 3 Gifts to share with the next generation
14. Four Lessons of Emotional Intelligence from “The Hulk”
15. Crossing the Chasm of resistance during Change
16. I met Nelson Mandela Today