Francesca

This exhibition explores the meaning of dreams and nightmares. Dreams and nightmares are opposites, but they equally represent two aspects of a human being’s ego. In fact, they are considered as the hidden part of the human subconscious - able to talk to us through images, circumstances, and symbols. On one hand, dreams point to pleasure, joy, protection, salvation, and lightheartedness. On the other hand, nightmares express fear, threat, risks and uncertainties. Just like yin and yang, dreams and nightmares complete each other; without one, the other cannot exist. Through this path, the audience can reflect on their own personal dreams and nightmares, even the hidden ones, and discover their intimate joys and fears. My vision is to guide the audience through a personal journey where they can find their inner peace (dreams), moving away from the negative thoughts causing pain and anxiety (nightmares).

I developed my idea when I read a quote by William Shakespeare: We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep. I wanted to experience the truthfulness of this sentence through my artworks, creating two sections: the first one is the representation of some of the most recurring nightmares, the second shows symbols and places where I feel safe, healthy, and light.

The choice to create the nightmare’s artworks in black and white is my personal style to attribute dark colors to pessimism and gloom. As anticipated, in the first section, each artwork reflects a threat which I have dreamed of many times, and they still haunt me today. For example, Fly Away represents in my dream two wings which fly away until disappearing in the sky, signifying death and loss of loved ones. My Red Thread is my personal remake of the Chinese popular legend of the Red String of Destiny. The meaning of this legend refers to the connection of two soulmates by an invisible red string. I played with this meaning by flipping it; in fact, My Red Thread refers to a recurring nightmare where people are not able to touch each other suffering and experiencing great pain.

The meaning of nightmares, fear and darkness disappear and develop in the beauty of dreams. The part of my exhibition dedicated to dreams brings joy and light, mostly connected with childhood memories. As a child, I always spent almost all the summer at the sea with my family. Fascinating and mysterious, the seaside inspires in me protection and freedom. The sound of the waves and the salty smell are feelings that I usually dream, remembering the experience of peacefulness and protection. The seaside is the place of desire where creatures become a dream, reflecting the beauty of the sea and all the memories which I assign to the sea. The jellyfish act as the coronation of the nice memories, bringing their beauty through their multiple colors and shades. For example, The Sun is made by bright and bold colors such as yellow, blue, pink.

My exhibition aims to fully involve the viewer through the use of different mediums. I focused the dream section on 3D artworks, such as ceramics, resulting in more realistic and palpable works. The path ends with a sound involvement: The video is a short video which shows a tender family moment where laughter and magic natural light makes the atmosphere supernatural, transporting the viewer from reality to my dream.

The layout of my exhibition aims to detach the visitors from the real physical environment to immerse the audience in a personal journey of self-discovery. I used two boards to create the path of dreams/nightmares, and I also took advantage of the external natural light coming from the window. I decided to place my artworks in the corner next to the window to create a game of lights and shadows. The lights shine on the ‘dream board’ as symbol of rebirth and peacefulness, instead the nightmare creations are in the shade to create a darker and gloomier context. The long path represents a climax where the audience feels an initial pain experiencing their personal nightmares. The journey ends with the apex of the climax leading the viewer to an internal peace.