Sleep Talk (2023)
This work emerges from a deeply personal and intricate emotional landscape shaped by witnessing others endure profound trauma. I believe such experiences resonate with many: encountering a distressing news story about social injustice, one might feel an overwhelming surge of emotions—yet find themselves paralyzed, uncertain of how to respond, lacking the agency or means to effect change. These unresolved feelings often linger in my thoughts at night. When I attempt to articulate these experiences, my narratives often feel fragmented, akin to somniloquy—irrational, elusive, and seemingly devoid of coherence. A persistent voice in my mind urges me to "forget it, sleep it off, and return to the routines of daily life." Over time, I recognized that this voice does not stem from my own self-assurances but embodies the societal forces that seek to hypnotize us into complacency.
The hypnotic, meditative voice that the audience encounters within the work mirrors my critical interrogation of meditation itself—a practice often associated with cultivating positive thought by dismissing so-called "distractions." Should we not, instead, examine these disturbances within our minds more closely? Can their eradication truly lead to genuine transformation, or does it merely offer a fleeting escape into self-deception?