dreams as the antidote
Open Thoughts
Has anyone had a dream that stuck with them for several days, weeks, or even years? Two nights ago, I had one, and for some reason, I feel like my dreams are just getting stronger & stronger. Today, I have been floating in between tasks, and my waking self seems to have fallen asleep again.
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When I first moved to Chicago, I was having wild dreams. One dream that has really stuck with me was about living on a farm on the outskirts of Chicago during a time when the US was heavily rationing or out of fresh produce. We were one of the few places with produce, but people were living under extremely harsh conditions. I was the only person allowed to sleep on the farm because I had erotic dreams about old commercials (advertising fresh food), somehow, other people realized they were very important. The commercial was about a salmon being caught, breaded, fried, and wrapped in paper. The crinkling and crackling sounds from the commercial were extremely pleasurable, like listening to fire crackle. I learned from escaping and meeting a man selling watches in Chinatown that the dreams about the salmon commercials were very significant for the time period they took place in. I woke up before he could explain why. Ahhhh! My guess is the commercial came out at the time when apples, fresh caught salmon, and most commercial produce disappeared, and the finiteness of capitalism came to meet us.
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My friend told me a story of how two people had recurring dreams about one another without meeting. They both put themselves in a dream state (in their waking life) and were able to meet up in person. For some reason, I feel very called to go to Chinatown and find the man selling watches so he can tell me more about what happened during the year of this fish commercial! Haha.
Lately, I have been thinking about how people can master the art of dreaming. I’m starting to recognize that dreams can attune us to the symbolism and trajectories of our waking lives. Dreaming just feels very important now in this attention economy. Are there worlds, meeting places, or not-yet-felt systems we can experience in our dreams? How do people hone the art of dreaming (in the way someone might learn a craft)? What happens when dreams become too powerful? How do you balance it with your waking life? I’m feeling a little existential right now. It’s okay, though. My cells will reconfigure, and I’ll be new again tomorrow.
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I could talk about dreams all day, but I need to do some self-promo. You may have seen a tiny zine floating around (inspired by my friend Erez’s Cicada Issue) advertising Duo Riso’s show and my sonic sculpture that will be featured in it. The sculpture was made in collaboration with the composer Carlos Zarate and Duo Riso and will feature heating vents, feedback systems, teeth, and ceramic stars.
I made this zine from one of the first sketchbook drawings I had for concieving the sculpture!
The event is this Sunday, May 25th, at 8:30pm at Constellation Chicago. It will also be live-streamable. Here is the event link if you want to check it out!
Right now, the sculpture is living in the tiny 10 × 10 room in my house. It feels nice to live with work again, and be fully aware of the dimensions of things & my own body.
I hope to see some of y’all soon.
Loads of love,
Christina