Dreamland Sirens
DREAMLAND SIRENS
An Exhibition by Charlotte Colbert
Curated by Simon de Pury and UTA Artist Space, the show includes a sound collaboration between Colbert and Isobel Waller-Bridge.
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The show, taking inspiration from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, invites us to become aware of what we dream and visualise collectively.
"We are too unsensitised to 'dream' in our society; it's seen as superfluous, frivolous, when in fact there is nothing else. If you stop imagining you don't create anything. We live in and around structures and things that were imagined by the people who came before us - our buildings, our clothes etc. It's really important we actively and collectively visualise a world we want to work towards - a positive way we might interact with Al, with climate change, with each other. There is a power in imagining and what we imagine becomes tomorrow."
- Charlotte Colbert
"We have in us the power of intuition, the power of connecting to the unseen that can be very powerful. I think we are all mediums and that artists are the ultimate mediums and Charlotte is definitely one.”
- Simon de Pury
"In her work, whether it be film, installation, photography, design or sculpture, Colbert is engaged in questioning reality. She is committed to exploring how we understand the world around us. How do we create our own belief systems? How do use our power to visualise to imagine other realities?”
- Rachel Hajek, Curator, the Design Museum
The spoken word poet Hollie McNish composed Dreamland for the show:
Large-scale sculptures were on display alongside a sound collaboration between Colbert and celebrated film composer, Isobel Waller-Bridge which has been released on vinyl. In addition a series of limited edition artworks are available in support of charities working towards better futures.
The eye acts as a window into the soul, bridging the inner world of the brain with the outer world of reality. With Dreamland Sirens (350 x 309 cm, stainless steel), this surrealist, Alice in Wonderland-inspired artwork, we enter a space of alternative reality where conventions are revealed to be absurd and arbitrary, ultimately enabling us to question and reimagine our own belief systems.
A Taste of Exile (25 x 20 cm, resin and concrete) is a reminder that we all come from a uterus; we are all embedded in nature and in the mystery cycle of life and death. With a nod to the Queen of Hearts this piece celebrates pre-monotheistic times and serves as a hopeful icon for the possibility of alternative systems and power structures. Colbert uses the symbol throughout her practice—including in jewellery—striving to create a supportive coven, united by the loving and protective symbol of origin.
"We all come from a uterus. Actually, thinking about that feels like science fiction; it’s so surreal. It feels like the symbol should remind us to respect and love where we come from not only our Organs but also the earth. There is the dream of space travel; could we have the dream of earth living? Infuse that with a sense of vision and adventure."
- Charlotte Colbert
A conversation hosted by Nicoletta Lambertucci with Vanessa Onwuemezi and Charlotte Colbert.
BUY NOW - Exhibition Catalogue for Dreamland Sirens
