Visual Arts |

Study of sleep: Pillow and Dream

Yae Jin Lee

Project #1

Dream: Three stories

series of a painting and drawings, mixed media, 2020-2021

Pillow cry, *acrylic with mix materials on wood panel, 21’ x 24’,*

*Lady with no face, pastel on paper, 18’x 24’*

*Pillow swallow night, oil pastel with mixed materials on canvas, 18’x 24’*

A human dreams every night for about two hours, but not everyone can remember everything about their dreams. The brain stimulates memory, but the order of memories are not sequential. Therefore, the characters and stories are in disorder. Only strong visual memories stay with you and it makes the dream more meaningful to the individual. Dreams are comprised of thoughts and sensations that are visually represented in our minds, and extend beyond our subconscious mind. Dreaming is one of the ways that we consolidate memories. Dreams are a big part of my inspiration, and recording them in my journal and turning them into artwork has been a therapeutic journey for me to understand myself more. By putting a new narrative in the dream, I was able to reflect part of myself in this project. This project is my way of communicating with my dream and myself.

Project #2

Leave your soul in the pillow

drawing, wool, sculpture, 2021

The first project Dream: Three stories inspired and focused on capturing the essences of my dream. In this project, a ‘Pillow’, the essential object of my sleep, would be the main subject of my project which is part of my continuous exploration of ‘Sleep, Pillow and Dream’.

Pillow is a sacred place where you lay and rest/relax your body and soul. Humans leave their traces on the pillow; saliva, sweat, some sign of usage with colour changes, shape and texture. By using wool material, the sculpture recomposes the meaning of the pillow as not just an object but a small place, where the viewers connect the comfort of the bed and home.