Meta-morgana: reflections on distance and the illusion of the real

Meta-morgana: reflections on distance and the illusion of the real is a lecture that departs from the phenomenon of fata morgana, an optical illusion in which something appears close and tangible while in fact remaining distant, distorted, or never truly there. The lecture examines how distance, whether geographical, cultural, or affective, does not merely separate but actively shapes how we see, believe, and assign meaning to reality. Moving across embodied experience, the history of perception, and the production of knowledge, illusion is approached not as an error of vision but as a condition embedded in our relationship with the world. The body becomes the site where such illusions are felt, negotiated, and at moments.