amira@lowes.ch www.amiraseneque.com
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his project questions the notion that realising a dream, goal or ambition is a way to achieve greater success. It does so by placing a sleeping dream in a context where one would usually expect a waking dream, goal or ambition. The intentionally ambiguous use of the word ‘dream’ in this project creates confusion; the absurd yet realistic objects and videos that have been created on the basis of sleeping dreams aim to offer a humorous critique of our modern obsession with success. The themes and outcomes of this project were influenced by personal struggles with depression as well as explorations of the creative potential of an extremely vivid dream life. In our modern capitalist society the key to success is to work long hours, sacrificing sleep if necessary, in the race for efficiency. However, for sufferers of depression simple everyday activities require a great deal of energy, so getting enough sleep is crucial to regenerating. Dreaming can be a way of escaping from the stresses of the day. The absurdity of a dream life can inspire an injection of light-heartedness into waking life. We spend a third of our day sleeping; 25 per cent of that time we are dreaming. But few people make use of this source of creative inspiration in their waking lives. This notion was a prompt to materialise some of the absurd, surreal objects or experiences featured in dreams. An interesting aspect of this process is the extra creativity involved. Using design or artistic skills to fill in elements of the dream object or experience that cannot be remembered and enables the final object to gain a realistic appearance. For example, packaging was designed for a ‘prosciutto facial scrub’ inspired by a dream. It looks real, but it has no functional purpose. In researching dreams, many articles and websites were found that used the term ‘dream’ as a synonym for ‘ambition’ or ‘goal’, especially in the contexts of personal development,
“Sugar Daddy” is a costume from a dream. It is a suit with glued sugar cubes.
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motivational speaking or life coaching. These resources offer helpful tips and advice on how to achieve more in life. The word ‘dream’ is thus inherently ambiguous. On one hand, it can designate an attainable goal such as buying an expensive car, starting a business or finding love. On the other hand it can signify something unreal and ephemeral. ‘To realise a dream’ can be understood in two different ways; to literally materialise some aspect of a sleeping dream, as has been done in this project, or to achieve an ambition. The field of life coaching offers many techniques to help people realise their dreams, ambitions and goals. Applying a life-coaching 5-step plan for goal realisation to a sleeping dream turned out to enable a more efficient materialisation of a dream object. So, what would happen if we turned our sleeping dreams into our life ambitions? What if we treated our sleeping dreams as a means to our success? We live in a society that is highly focused on success and wealth. The pressure to constantly perform and achieve more creates high levels of anxiety and stress. ‘Am I the best I can be? Should I be doing better?’, these are the same anxieties that can be experienced as a young designer in a highly competitive field. The motivational speaking and coaching industry relieves this ‘success-anxiety’ by providing systems and plans to help achieve one’s dreams and goals. But, in a sort of vicious cycle, it simultaneously fuels that anxiety since the dream is always just beyond reach.