Presented by Philia Gallery, Doors of Perception is a large-scale installation by Pilar Zeta, unveiled during MACO Art Week 2023 in Mexico. The title draws from a metaphor first introduced by William Blake in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: “If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is: Infinite.” This idea was later expanded by Aldous Huxley, who explored elevated states of consciousness as a means to expand human perception and encounter reality in its purest form.

Rooted in the understanding that the unconscious is guided by symbols, the installation presents a series of architectural portals—thresholds designed to guide visitors into altered states of awareness. Each portal invites a shift in energy and perception, offering a moment of transformation and alignment with the higher self.

Scattered throughout the space are human-scale chess pieces, each representing a distinct philosophy or archetype, referencing the way we move through life with a balance of strategy, spontaneity, and play.

At the far end of the corridor stands a sacred altar, holding a sculptural white egg resting on a golden sphere. The sphere symbolizes fluidity and adaptability, while the egg evokes creation, rebirth, and realization—a connection to the viewer’s most essential and unformed potential.

A floating black-and-white checkerboard path crosses the space, an allegory of duality—light and shadow, yin and yang. As visitors step onto the platform, they enter an ethereal realm, suspended between the known and the unknown.

As with all of Pilar Zeta’s work, Doors of Perception blurs the boundaries between sculpture, architecture, and ritual. It invites participants into an immersive journey where energy, symbol, and form converge to reveal expanded perception and infinite possibility.