Do you ever wonder what you look like when sleeping? Aussie, Olivia Martin McGuire has a new photographic sleep series that I find fascinating in an art meets life way. The photos picture individuals and couples in that vulnerable state just after falling asleep. In her article entitled "
The Choreography of Sleep"
Lucy Davies quotes Olivia as saying, “
I was hoping to catch the psychology of the shell – as in the body – once the inhibitions of consciousness were gone.”
I like that these photos are of ordinary folks...
Here's an excerpt of Lucy's article...
Lilly Dreams
Rob Dreams
Jacqui Dreams
To take the photographs, she strapped a digital Hasselblad to the ceiling of a photography studio. Each result is so individual, that I assumed she must have posed each one, but she says categorically no. Instead she asked them to spend a few weeks thinking and focusing on the way they slept – did they lie on their side when they fell asleep; was their hair in their eyes when they woke up, and so on.
Helen Dreams
Loren Dreams
At first, most of them found it difficult to sleep under observation, and so McGuire would begin the session by asking them to recall these shapes – on their stomach or their back; arms outstretched or tucked beneath them until they became comfortable with the process. The particular shapes were important to McGuire: “I was hoping to make it look like a dance across the walls.”
Leika Dreams
Jess & Nadav Dream
Printed life-size on thick-textured watercolor paper, they were exhibited recently at the ACP in Sydney, alongside a video installation where the subjects toss, turn and dance their way across the screen.
For Olivia Martin McGuire's website, go to... http://www.oliviamartinmcguire.com
