Unveiling the Tapestry of Dreams: Imagination and Identity in a Digital Age

UCCA’s first exhibition of 2024, Dream Time, will immerse visitors in a multisensory journey through the intricate world of dreams, both as fleeting reveries and profound aspirations. Featuring works from fifteen diverse artists and collectives from around the globe, the exhibition explores themes of will, hope, memory, and imagination.

Curator Yan Fang has transformed UCCA’s galleries into a dreamscape that provokes sensory and intellectual connections, encouraging viewers to contemplate their contemporary lives. The exhibition delves into the primal nature of dreams, where the dreamer navigates a liminal space between reality and fantasy, weaving narratives that blend the past and the future.

In a world saturated with digital information, our inner sanctum is constantly bombarded, leaving little time for coherent thought and imagination. Dream Time examines how this affects our ability to dream and imagine, delving into topics such as the struggles of immigrants, gender equality, the representation of ethnic minorities, and the coexistence of cultures in a post-colonial world.

Through various mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, film, installations, and performances, the artists in Dream Time explore the meaning of dreams, subjectivity, and empowerment. Their works showcase the shared visions that emerge from diverse backgrounds and the creative power that arises from constraints of generation, identity, and culture.

Artists featured in Dream Time include Aslı Çavuşoğlu & İnci Eviner, Doreen Chan, Aleksandra Domanović, Feng Zhixuan, Tirdad Hashemi & Soufia Erfanian, Sky Hopinka, Christine Sun Kim, Ma Qiusha, Itziar Okariz, Peng Zuqiang, Sin Wai Kin, Chin Tsao, Evelyn Taocheng Wang, Yuyan Wang, and Guanyu Xu.

Dream Time invites viewers to embark on a journey through the realm of dreams, reflecting on the complexities of the human experience in an ever-changing world.