We live in two illusory states: awake and dream. The two only co-exist at a special time during a "waking dream". At this point, we only exist; dream and awake co-exist. This can happen when we are waking up in the morning and is accompanied by a strong sense of situatedness and paralysis. It can be an unsettling, frightening, and enlightening moment. In one experience, we feel pressure on our chest holding us down in our bed but we can see the room around us. Something is happening around us, trying to get us out of bed but we can't get up. We are aware but immobile. Tension mounts and we try harder and harder to raise up. We panic and struggle. Then, we realize, we are dreaming and fall back asleep hoping to really wake up. This pattern cycles around as if layers of consciousness are being peeled back. In "Waking Dream", we explore this moment of coexistence. What does it mean? Is this "reality" free of illusion?

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Performances

Waking Dream is a multimedia performance artwork that explores reality as the border between awake and dreaming. Infrared technology provides access to the dark, unconscious world of dreams.

Waking Dream Performances:

1. Nadine, Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 9, 10 and 11, 2001.
2. ISEA2002, Nagoya, Japan, Oct.30, 2002.
3. Telus Theatre, UBC, Vancouver, Canada, Nov. 7 and 8, 2003.

Images from Waking Dream

Close-up of image (Neubauer, 2001) used in Waking Dream. (Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 2001)

Close-up of image (Neubauer, 2001) used in Waking Dream. (Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 2001)

Takahashi dancing in the dark cave viewed with infrared light. Taken by Neubauer for Hiroshima workshop, 2000.

Image from Nadine (Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 9, 10, and 11, 2001.)

About the Artists (from 2001 description)

Sidney Fels

Sidney Fels received his Ph. D. and M.Sc. in Computer Science at the University of Toronto in 1994 and 1990 respectively. He received his B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 1988. He was a visiting research at ATR Media Integration \amp Communications Research Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan from 1996 to 1997. He created the Glove-TalkII system that allows a person to speak with their hands. The device was built to be a virtual artificial vocal tract. He also created the Iamascope is an interactive artwork which explores the relationship between people and machines. In Iamascope, the participant takes the place of the coloured piece of glass inside the kaleidoscope. The participant's movements cause a symphony of imagery and music to engulf them. His other artwork includes the Forklift Ballet, PlesioPhone and Video Cubism.

Baerbel Neubauer

Baerbel Neubauer was born in 1959 in Klagenfurt, Austria. She studied stage-design and film at the Academy of Arts in Vienna. Since 1980 she has been making various types of film including: animation films, short subjects, experimental films, and documentaries. Since 1991, she has also been composing music and film scores. Currently she is actively working in various media, such as 35mm cinema, 70mm IMAX cinema and Quicktime Movies for the internet. She is also working on performance with dance and music. Her previous films are mostly abstract, direct on film animations. These have received international recognition and prizes, running at numerous international animation film festivals, short film festivals and experimental film festivals. She has used her style to make commercials such as FALTER-SPOT 7, and ABSOLUT NEUBAUER. In 1998 she made a 70mm animation film, SKY by handpainting directly on film. In1999, she created several Quicktime Movies for the article "The Influence Of Sound/Music On Images" in the Animation World Magazine. This can be seen at: http://www.awn.com/mag/issue4.03/4.03pages/neubauermoritz.php3 Baerbel served as a jury member at several international animation festivals such as the selection committees of Annecy 2000, Hiroshima 2000. She has been offering free workshops at festivals, schools and universities since 1986. These include a workshop at the Royal College of Art in London in 1999 and a teaching position at the Rocky Mountains College of Art and Design in Denver in the fall of 2000.

Sachiyo Takahashi

Sachiyo Takahashi studied new philosophy (culture and representation) at the Tokyo University and continued as an assistant there from 1993 to 1996). Her main research was in Japanese traditional theater (Noh theater and Japanese traditional puppet theater Bunraku) and performance in this century focusing on voice and body in performance. From childhood, she has played several Occidental musical instruments and later learned Noh flute from Master Yukimasa Isso for 10 years. She has been deeply involved and influenced by Noh theater. From her interests in the fine combination of sound and action in performance, she created experimental pieces in Tokyo from 1988, applying traditional concepts to develop a new art form. In 1996, she came to Belgium to work with Jan Fabre. She studied theater direction from him and played in three of his works including "Glowing Icons". She has studied electro acoustic composition with Prof. Annette Van de Gorne. In December 1999 she created and performed her sound-action piece "Aviation/Abbreviation" (production: Troubleyn vzw) in Antwerp, Belgium. She is on tour with this production as well as other collaboration in 2001. She has been actively collaborating with artists from different fields, including: Akitsugu Maebayashi, Sidney Fels, Alzek Misheff.

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