Telematic Dreaming: COVID-19 Version

Telematic Dreaming [1992] 2021, is a work consisting of two double beds in different locations. One bed is within a blue-screen environment; the other, in a darkened space. Both beds have cameras above them and are surrounded by monitors; each bed has one person lying in it. The darkened bed has a digital projector above it that projects onto it a live video image of the person on the blue-screen bed. Thus, the camera above the darkened bed captures the image of both people on one bed, sending the image to the monitors in the blue-screen room. A further surreal twist is added by the addition of pre-recorded video mixed into the live projections, for example, when the bed surface is blended with COVID-19 related content, a hospital bed, PPE and biological imagery.
Telematic Dreaming, with its connotations of intimacy and dream states, extends telepresence beyond the screen to spatialize the site of interaction and transform it into a live theatrical event in which visitors are key performers. The work explores presence, absence and the psychology of human interaction within technologically mediated communications.