The Exhibition of a Dream

Conceived as a record and curated by Mathieu Copeland, The Exhibition of a Dream comprises sixteen dreams interpreted as so many songs, played following temporary and evolving mandalas within the otherwise empty Engawa Space. Underscoring the complex beauty inherent in the genesis of a dream, the exhibition proposes what it would mean to create a mental image within the mind of those experiencing these mediated dreams, and thus opening these to new interpretations. German musician, composer and performer FM Einheit (Dortmund, 1958) was invited to compose sixteen songs based on the dreams written by Gabriel Abrantes, Robert Barry, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, FM Einheit, Alexandre Estrela, Tim Etchells, Susie Green, Karl Holmqvist, David Link, Pierre Paulin, Emilie Pitoiset, Lee Ranaldo, Lætitia Sadier, Susan Stenger and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Manifestation of desires and fears, vehicles for voices from the unconscious and fragments of mythology, the dreams of these artists, filmmakers, playwrights, poets, and writers were performed by FM Einheit who surrounded himself with musicians Volker Kamp, Robert Poss, Susan Stenger, Erika Stucky, Saskia von Klitzing and the singers of the Gulbenkian Choir. The dream interpretations were ultimately recorded live, both publicly and privately, in the two amphitheatres of the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, the Open-Air Amphitheatre and the Grand Auditorium. These compositions are ultimately reconfigured spatially through the forms of…