A performative installation by Rose Li Zi-Rui, (Visual Arts, Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University), Rafael Gil Cordeiro (Trends & Identity, Zurich University of the Arts), Brooke Jackson (Curatorial Studies, Zurich University of the Arts), Qian Yuxuan (Drama, Nanjing University), Nuriia Khasenova (Music Pedagogy, Zurich University of the Arts) at McaM Shanghai.

Intro

The M.A.S dream machine provides a service for people to outsource their dreams. In a time of constant demands on productivity and instantaneity, the lack of sleep has become a common phenomenon, with the result that dreaming as a human experience is vanishing. Using the M.A.S dream machine allows you to work more, sleep less, and still dream.

Concept

How is the work composed?
Performance installation

What media are you working with?
Mixed media

What output are you aspiring?
Rethinking structures and the value of sleep in our society

What questions do you raise in relation to your theme?
– Did I sleep well last night?
– Am I afraid of going to sleep?
– Am I disappointed when I cannot see the tiger in the zoo, because he is sleeping?
– Can absence be present?
– Can I be bored while sleeping?
– Can I imagine time being absent?
– Where do I go when I sleep?
– Can I recall what happened today last year?
– Can something that was never there be absent?
– Do you need a bag for more?
– How much less is more?
– What am I missing while reading this?
– Do I need more questions?
– Am I expecting more?

Where does your inspiration come from?
Process of doing experiments without words

How does your topic relate to bonds & ties?
The bonds and ties are created in society are not congruent with the ones of human necessities. So for example, sleeping is a human necessity yet the imposed workload interferes with this need.

Process

What steps/how many stages did you go through to get to the result of your work?
First we created a mind map with pictures each one of us had provided and tried to find connections between them. Through this we found several keywords that we used in an experimental one hour improvisation exercise. We then extracted our three main keywords: more, absence, and sleep. Rose did not join us in Shanghai so her absence gave our work an additional frame. Our concrete output was made up of our three keywords, Rose being absent, the chosen exhibition space, and duration.

How did you organize yourselves as a group?
We chose an experimental and free approach until Shanghai where we structured our way of working by also defining tasks.

What challenges have you encountered?
We encountered difficulty in wrapping up due to many ideas, inputs and approaches. This made us feel lost and overloaded sometimes. The tight time schedule as well as the difficulty in communication due to language and distance added to the challenge encountered.

Result/State of Play

A performative installation by Rose Li Zi-Rui, (Visual Arts, Academy of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University), Rafael Gil Cordeiro (Trends & Identity, Zurich University of the Arts), Brooke Jackson (Curatorial Studies, Zurich University of the Arts), Qian Yuxuan (Drama, Nanjing University), Nuriia Khasenova (Music Pedagogy, Zurich University of the Arts) at McaM Shanghai.

Intro

The M.A.S dream machine provides a service for people to outsource their dreams. In a time of constant demands on productivity and instantaneity, the lack of sleep has become a common phenomenon, with the result that dreaming as a human experience is vanishing. Using the M.A.S dream machine allows you to work more, sleep less, and still dream.

Concept

How is the work composed?
Performance installation

What media are you working with?
Mixed media

What output are you aspiring?
Rethinking structures and the value of sleep in our society

What questions do you raise in relation to your theme?
– Did I sleep well last night?
– Am I afraid of going to sleep?
– Am I disappointed when I cannot see the tiger in the zoo, because he is sleeping?
– Can absence be present?
– Can I be bored while sleeping?
– Can I imagine time being absent?
– Where do I go when I sleep?
– Can I recall what happened today last year?
– Can something that was never there be absent?
– Do you need a bag for more?
– How much less is more?
– What am I missing while reading this?
– Do I need more questions?
– Am I expecting more?

Where does your inspiration come from?
Process of doing experiments without words

How does your topic relate to bonds & ties?
The bonds and ties are created in society are not congruent with the ones of human necessities. So for example, sleeping is a human necessity yet the imposed workload interferes with this need.

Process

What steps/how many stages did you go through to get to the result of your work?
First we created a mind map with pictures each one of us had provided and tried to find connections between them. Through this we found several keywords that we used in an experimental one hour improvisation exercise. We then extracted our three main keywords: more, absence, and sleep. Rose did not join us in Shanghai so her absence gave our work an additional frame. Our concrete output was made up of our three keywords, Rose being absent, the chosen exhibition space, and duration.

How did you organize yourselves as a group?
We chose an experimental and free approach until Shanghai where we structured our way of working by also defining tasks.

What challenges have you encountered?
We encountered difficulty in wrapping up due to many ideas, inputs and approaches. This made us feel lost and overloaded sometimes. The tight time schedule as well as the difficulty in communication due to language and distance added to the challenge encountered.

Result/State of Play