Introduction video:
Summary:
The Dreamcatcher is a 3D generative sculpture created using my brainwaves and a photograph of my subconscious. This project is an extension of the Numaverse project which explores hypnagogic imagery. This project further explores connections of the images fetched from the subconscious with real-world events and for studying synchronicities, healing and more.
Dreamcatcher 1
The dreamcatcher project was initiated at the Museum of the Future in Dubai as part of the "Rhizomatic" exhibition organised by Morrow Collective. As part of an un-performace act at the exhibition, I went into a state of meditation. In this state I explore hypnagogic and deeper imagery.
During the meditation, I wore an EEG device which translated my brainwaves into my computer which then created the sculpture. My brainwaves generated the feathers of the sculpture. Specifically the colour and size of the feathers were determined by the brainwaves. During the meditation, I also fetched an image from the subconscious. After the meditation I then queried in a prompt into an image generation AI model to generate a digital image corresponding to what I saw in the hypnagogic state. During the exhibition, what I saw in the deep states was a "city with a circle around it". The generated image was this:
This is then placed at the top of the dreamcatcher. Thus, the dreamcatcher "catches my dream or rather photographs my subconscious with the imprint of my brain activity".
The NFT of the dreamcatcher was airdropped to the collector of the 1/1 NFT of the key image of the Numaverse project which went into auction as part of the exhibition. The link to the dreamcatcher NFT is:
The link to the Niftygateway auction NFT is:
Early Processes and Iterations
Final Interactive Sculpture
The final interactive sculpture can be viewed at:
The live generation of the feathers:
Photographs from the Rhizomatic exhibition at the Museum of the Future:
Dreamcatcher 2
Dreamcatcher 2 followed the same process and was exhibited at Scope Art Show during Art Basel Miami Beach. This was exhibited in collaboration with Makersplace.
Dreamcatcher 3 - Synchronicity
Dreamcatcher 3 was created after a study on synchronicities with 7 people. During the process of creation, I entered a hypnagogic state, while wearing an EEG headband. In the state, I first asked my subconscious to show connections between people (intent image). The image I saw was whispered out which was then converted to text prompts using a speech-to-text AI model and an LLM. This prompt was then used to generate a digital image using an image generation AI model. This intent image was placed at the top of the sculpture generatively. This intent image was placed at the top of the sculpture generatively. Post this, I mentioned the name of each person and fetched an image related to each of them from my subconscious. Each image I saw was generatively attached to the feathers of the dreamcatcher. The color-saturation of the feathers corresponded to how calm/active I was during the session. Post the session, each image was shared with each participant and were asked to narrate any real-world connections they had with the image. All the connections they narrated have been recorded with the artwork. These narrations had elements of synchronicities, nostalgia and healing in them.
Images and narrations:
Intent
Prompt: I see people connected to each other
Mehak Jain
Prompt: I see a metallic standee with a board in the middle at the top left corner there is a semicircular opening
Connection: "I see two things majorly in this art- a painting board and a plant. Last few days I have gone back to creating physical artworks. I started in art world as a traditional artist and then slowly turned into digital. My first artwork that was sold was a physical painting of a tree titled “Growth” which is interesting to see in this image as a plant. Interestingly the first time I applied for a photography competition, my submission was of a plant with a fruit. The theme of the competition was to share picture of something that makes you happy and my submission was “seeing fruits from the seed I have sown”. And the art world showed me those fruits 🙂"
Daim Al Yad
Prompt: I see a saran wrap. I also see a bottle of cleaning liquid. The bottle is trapezoid in shape at the base. It had a yellow-green colour liquid
Connection: "A day or two before you sent me this image, I started preparation for a big autumn cleaning at home with a large grocery and cleaning supplies order. Saran wrap and green apple scented cleaning liquid were among the things I bought. And much of the time between receiving the images and today, I spent focused on the aforementioned clean-up.
The visuals of this image diverge in some interesting ways from your voice-prompt:
Firstly, the saran wrap presents more like a cheesecloth sort of fabric to me, which reminds me of my estranged mother, who later in her life owned goats and sometimes made goat cheese from their milk.
Secondly, the wire pyramid only appears in the generated imagery, being a misconstrual of part of your description of the bottle shape. Its presence, and perhaps all the more so its phantom presence, recalls my father, whose visit to Egypt in his early adulthood was impactful on both him and, indirectly, me. Among other things, his experiences led him to name his company, still operating today, after the Pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid; and led to my own, perhaps somewhat Western-typical, fascination with ancient Egypt."
Colborn Bell
Prompt: A pyramid with a large flying saucer hovering over it
Connection: "on the image Im very drawn to the white geometric patterns which i connect to a large mental and lifestyle shift I made around 2017 when I first entered crypto. in the way they read from left to right, seemingly increasing in complexity and evolving out of more clouds/chaos, feels as a journey of my coming into being. as it flows there is a promise of connection to higher powers and orders"
Ann Marie Alanes
Prompt: A snow skating shoe worn by a person skiing, only leg visible.
Connection: "I am reminded of antique racing ice skates. I’ve never used them myself but I do enjoy antiques and wondering about the lives of people who owned them. What would it have been like to be a speed skater back in the 1800s?!
I do love ice skating with friends. There’s this open-air ice skating rink in Palo Alto, California that holds a lot of great memories for me. It has fireplaces right off the ice that give me the same warm and cozy kind of feeling that this piece gives me."
Jatin Pathi
Prompt: I see an Indian girl wearing a sari with the face of an eagle.
Connection: Confidential (because it is too personal)
Indrani Mitra
Prompt: I see brown shoes with lace open and on both sides, a man with black socks and a gray pant is wearing the shoes
Connection: "My dad used to own a pair of shoes like that. Maybe not in that exact color - a little darker. Most of the time he wore "chappals" but during "business" visits he would wear those shoes polished so that you could see yourself in them. My eldest one , today has chosen a path that requires him to wear shoes like this for all formal occasions. They skipped a generation and turned up again just like glimpses of my parents that I see in my kids - the calmness of the older one like my dad and his penchant for writing poetries like my mom."
Indrani Mitra
Prompt: I see brown shoes with lace open and on both sides, a man with black socks and a gray pant is wearing the shoes
Connection: "My dad used to own a pair of shoes like that. Maybe not in that exact color - a little darker. Most of the time he wore "chappals" but during "business" visits he would wear those shoes polished so that you could see yourself in them. My eldest one , today has chosen a path that requires him to wear shoes like this for all formal occasions. They skipped a generation and turned up again just like glimpses of my parents that I see in my kids - the calmness of the older one like my dad and his penchant for writing poetries like my mom."
Prints
Each of the images were printed, signed and gifted to each of the participant.
