Sleeping is political. It enables dreaming as an act of imagining possibilities that go beyond norms, conventions, and fixed mores. Sleep deprivation is used as a way of mind-control. In an instant-culture world where temporalities are calculated under the banner of capitalist productivity, the action of sleeping can be conceived of as fundamentally anti-capitalistic. Whether coma, dream, nightmare, or states of suspended animation – in the works of filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, sleep is a recurring motif. Sleeping images are also found in Saodat Ismailova’s enchanting artworks which often present matriarchal narratives and subterranean communal histories of non-linear time or dream time. In this talk, the two artists will discuss their philosophies regarding the power of sleeping and dreaming and how these subconscious political acts might become more important today than ever.

With: Apichatpong Weerasethakul & Saodat Ismailova
Moderation: Kyoko Iwaki

A Conversation with the Sun (VR)
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
29.6.–2.7. and 6.7.–9.7.
Tickets

Zukhra
Saodat Ismailova
30.6.–2.7., 4.7.–9.7., and 11.7.–16.7.
Tickets