Ruth Thomas

evdtlc/concept

E N V O I R D E T O U T E S L E S C O U L E U R S

My 2023 dreams in 100 colours

EN VOIR DE TOUTES LES COULEURS is an expression that means having “to go through a lot / to endure everything” or literally translated: “to see in all colours”.

For a whole year I recorded my sleep, with a particular interest in the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phases, the sleep phases in which dreams take place. Based on the collected data, I was able to determine the number and duration of the REM phases – i.e. dreams – over the course of a year.

I divided the resulting number into groups of 100 dreams, and then wove each group into a work of 100 colours. The length of each dream determines the length of the woven colour strip, whereby one warp thread corresponds to one minute of dreaming. The 100 available colours were predefined (complete colour palette of the yarn brand used), whereas the order of the colours was selected at random during weaving.

This is of course not a scientific study, nor does it claim to be. Nevertheless, the data collected night after night using a mobile phone app provides insight into my sleep and dream patterns, which I normally don't have the slightest idea about, even though they are all about myself.

Sleep deprives me of the choice I have, in my waking state, to control my thoughts. The dream sequences, with their more or less bizarre imagery and emotions, are totally beyond my control. Therefore, as per the aforementioned expression, in dreams I have to put up with everything – i.e. myself – whether I like it or not. I have no power over myself and my subconscious, so night after night I “see in all colours”.

(Woven acrylic yarn, 15 works from 9.6 x 18 cm to 26.4 x 18 cm, 2024)

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