Project Statement

 

My thesis work consists of a number of discrete paintings, poems, and ceramic sculptures, presented together as a unified installation entitled The Dream-Explorer’s Study. 

 

Recording my dreams has been a lifelong practice. In January 2024, I began a dedicated dream journal to prepare for my thesis, selecting entries of personal significance and turning them into poetry as well as acrylic paintings on paper. This led to the inclusion of several sculptural dream-artifacts, and finally to the immersive environment that contains them. 

 

The Dream-Explorer’s Study appears as a private, domestic space. It harkens back to Victorian libraries, perhaps reminding viewers of Indiana Jones’ office; only instead of archaeological relics from real-world history, the room is filled with specimens collected from expeditions into dream environments. For example, The Crimson Depths hangs on a wall in monochromatic red, depicting a work shed in which the ceiling has caved in, revealing massive honeycombs. The floor is littered with dead bees and honey drips from the light fixtures. Elsewhere in the study, these bees have been preserved in a display case. The explorer has even gathered a sample of blood honey, spreading it on toast to observe its culinary properties. 

 

Visitors to the space are invited to partake in a multisensory feast of eclectic detail. They are encouraged to explore and to discover the connections between the notes and texts, the snapshots of dreamscapes, and the sculptures and various other objects lining the shelves. Herbal teas and other sleep aids have been left scattered on the desktop; it is evident that this is a working space. A disembodied voice recalls dream narratives, and the scent of typewriter ink merges with those of cigar smoke and ritual incense.

 

The importance of dreams is clear to me as an artist. As a practitioner of nature-based spirituality, I define a witch as someone with uncommon knowledge and who communes with the unknown. The unconscious mind provides an abundance of both. I am a firm supporter of Carl Jung’s belief in the importance of the process of individuation; I agree with Jung that seeking psychic wholeness has the potential to bring a lot of relief to modern humans. By presenting dreams as real, and in surrounding the viewer with symbolism from my own psyche, I hope to inspire others to take the first steps of their own inward journey.