The concept of our performance was existentialism combined with the relaxing nature of spaces, whilst also using the abstract nature of dreams and objects which manifests into a surreal perception. We choose this concept because whilst in the pandemic lockdown we started to look at solitude in a different light and started looking at ourselves and how we are placed in the concept of a magnanimous universe. We came across a philosophical outlook and started analysing our dreams and existence in an alternative way. Our artistic aims were to explore how spaces connected us and each other in multiple ways, how we delve into the process of self-discovery using mediums such as dreams and memories coupled with how all of them are amalgamated into a tree of life. By creating this work, we were trying to showcase that the morality of nature is a simultaneous existence and that it intertwines with reality and a dream-like state of consciousness. During our performance, we want our spectators to feel a sense of epiphany coupled with a sense of mystery that allows them to question their own dreams and existence – overall looking at the organised chaos and questioning their consciousness. During the early stages of our process, we researched films and paintings that dealt with the concept of dreams, surrealism, and existentialism. These included films such as ‘Inception’ by Christopher Nolan, ‘At Eternity’s Gate’ by Julian Schnabel and ‘A Dance of Reality’ by Alejandro Jodorowsky. The paintings included Vincent Van Gough’s ‘Starry Night’ as well as ‘The Persistence of Memory’ by Salvador Dali. Furthermore, we also researched into academic journals that delved deep on self-discovery to investigate what dreams meant whilst playing with the abstractness of it. After this we storyboarded what type of scenes we wanted to include and scouted for locations for our performance. Due to the pandemic, we filmed pieces, that were shot at different inside and outside locations around London and used the studio space, that combined different elements like lighting, props such as balloons and cigarettes, and costumes. We chose to use background music, as well as a mixture of colours, that conveyed the same tone of the different moods we wanted to depict in our scenes that included being happy, confused and scared.

This was a performance, interpreting the relation between object and performing arts. It was to examine the construction of image onstage and its relation to time which was done by examining artistic images like Of the Days by Brian Catling and create performance based on construction of image onstage and its relation to time (e.g., pace, duration and repetition). This helped me extend my performance making skills as I envisioned, co-created and devised an original piece where I self-directed and acted as well.