Micro-Project: Dream Journal

Task #1:

“Thinking Herself Back” is a personal narrative of Angeline Young, using the body to explore the plight of refugees and their displacement. The piece looks almost like a ritual, it being referenced by Daoist ritual practices. The role of the personal narrative brings out the issue further as it is relatable to the artist and this makes it more convincing to the audience.

The question I have for the artist is: What is the significance of the white powder, what does it symbolise in relation to the narrative?

“Reaching out for my father beyond the bamboo curtain” is regarding the distance that Angeline Young faces with her father, and thus the idea of absence. It contained recorded conversations with her and her father which drew on the idea of absence further. The role of the personal narrative brings an intimate quality to the piece, makes it very heartfelt and relatable to audience

The question I have for the artist is: How did you come up with the motifs for the piece?


Task #2:

Dream recording

  • My dog looked at me with eyes devoid of life, filled with sadness. I asked, “Zack, what’s wrong?” The whole time he just kept avoiding me. He was behaving very, very weirdly. He would usually be coming to me for attention. Then, my mom alerted me in horror. “Zack is at the window!” I rushed to the place, however only to find my dog looking into my eyes and saying that he was old and did not want to want to burden us anymore. He leapt out of the window. I sobbed uncontrollably.
  • I was a random soldier. We were at stealth mission and supposed to be not be discreet in retrieving information. Then, someone screwed up and knocked down a Pepsi can. The enemy was alert and the soldier who messed up was terrified. He thought it was the end of him. Until, the captain suddenly turned up and said it was him. He sacrificed himself for a comrade, so heroic. We just looked silently as he got arrested…
  • I was in ADM with my sister, we were having a function and socialising around. We decided to go further in a gallery to explore, suddenly it was really weird and red. It felt eerie. I asked her that we should go out, so we went out and then we opened the door to outdoors. Suddenly everything was back to normal and party resumes.

Task #3: Translating journal entries into video

Password: glad0009

Dream Sequence: I was in a beautiful, divine sanctuary. It was a magnificent glasshouse that had influences from the Greek architectural style. In this fantasy, I was awestruck and left wandering in amazement. Outside the glasshouse was a garden that looked very grand. I was simply socialising with my friends inside this glasshouse, and decided to take a stroll on the gardens outside with a friend. We walked down the main stairs to go towards the garden.

However, something was strange.

Suddenly, it was extremely dark almost as if we were in a basement. The plants were dried, the vibrant colours of the flowers were no longer present. The air was stale and dreary. Then, we heard a shrill. A hoard of creatures started charging towards us, they looked like ghouls. My friend yelled in shock but promptly took out his weapon, “Quickly! We need to eliminate them as demon hunters!” Then we just started killing the ghouls. It was an intense experience.

Thought process:

IMG_4270

Password: glad0009

Dream Sequence: Earth was slowly falling apart, grounds were collapsing. The sky cracked wide open to reveal a glimpse of the solar sky. Gravity was no longer holding Earth in place and I saw a school bus lit on fire, as it got dragged slowly into the solar sky. I was terrified, I could not do anything to help and could only stand there. I ran down to the subway station and strangely, I saw Japanese restaurants still present with staff inside. They calmly did their jobs. I was bewildered and continued to run on, to nowhere. Then, something enlightened me saying that there would be a safe haven and I need not worry. I simply followed where my heart and that enlightenment led me.

Thought process:

IMG_4271

3 comments

  1. Ohhhh Gladysss I like your performances very much! Especially your expression when you pull out a punch to kill the ‘ghouls’ at 0:35, and how you slowly back away to show how terrified you were in 0:10 of the next video. XD

  2. Website task

    Gladys, you asked me:

    “How did you come up with the motifs for the piece?”

    What do you see as the motifs in the piece?

    Dream journal

    Gladys, your first dream has a lot of emotion. How many gestures can you create to express this one emotion?

    What do you picture yourself wearing as you make these gestures?

    The second dream of being a soldier is fascinating because for me, it is not typically a role that you see a woman in. Can you describe what you were wearing? From your movements in the dream, would I be able to tell that you were a soldier?

    If you were to enact this piece with the other 5 performers, how might you begin?

    You write:

    “Then, someone screwed up and knocked down a Pepsi can.”

    This is a notable moment for me because you set up the scene and use the word stealth…I can almost hear the sound.

  3. Statements of meaning/questions for the artist:

    in the second video, I love the time you take to be in the space and to be with your body. I also love the gesture of the hands to the chest/heart and your use of space running.

    What is the relationship between these gestures and the narrative?

    I would like for you to take this sentence:

    “Gravity was no longer holding Earth in place and I saw a school bus lit on fire, as it got dragged slowly into the solar sky” and bring it to our next workshop. We will make movement with it. Well done.

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