By exploring a series of perceptual devices, which constituted a notable disciplinary expansion in the fields of art, architecture and design, particularly in the 1960s, the aim of this paper is to present apparatuses as instruments of embodied knowledge. The key proposition is that, situated in a liminal space between æsthethics and politics, perception and action, the discussed devices can be seen as tools of both critical analysis and radical intervention. They act as ‘performative manifestos’ which by acknowledging the agency of perception and by challenging conventions, reveal alternative spatial, somatic and societal realities, raising ‘atmospheric awareness’ and promoting a co-production of new ecologies.