For the instillation, I have been really torn as I want to include decor but I wasn’t really sure what I wanted it to look like. A constant in my idea has been to create a visually pleasing “to do” list. This was all well and nice but I had no idea how to make it surreal (to fit with the theme of the room). I started thinking about if anything “surreal” has ever happened to me and I started to recall a lot of surreal dreams I have had. The first one that came to mind was when I was younger. My mum used to be part of a choir and we went to see her sing at a venue (this part is real) and that evening, I dreamt that whilst we were there, everyone who was at the venue, gathered in a large circle and someone had given a speech, thanking everyone for coming to the charity event – I was explaining that us being there was helping the world, so we each started pulling on ropes that was lifting and opaque sheet with a yellow rim, up to the sky – this was apparent the ozone layer. When I woke up the next day and we gathered around the table I started talking about the fact that we all helped the earth and that we installed the ozone layer! My family was extremely confused, quite rightly, and for the longest time, I believed that they were joking. I need to emphasise that this happened a long time ago and I wasn’t sure why this seemed so absurd! So I included this on my to do list “put the ozone layer up! – URGENT”.
A few more examples of these dreams include my dad and a snake were fighting in a greenhouse and they tied at the end and were both given a black karate belt. Another one included me walking a fish, brushing out and untangling spaghetti, cutting holes in my leaves as they weren’t naturally forming any yet and many more extremely odd scenarios.
Below I have show the digital version I have created – as a plan or guide to follow when it came to drawing and painting.
I started by getting a sheet of canvas and priming it to make it an easier surface to paint onto. I then took the design I created on PROCREATE, and I sketched it out.
Making it an interactive piece
I want as many of the objects in the instillation to be able to be used by the audience / viewers. I really want for them to be comfortable enough to come in and explore all of these strange objects and potential tasks there might be. So I am going to be placing a notebook next to my piece and title it “Add your own surreal to do tasks” – I will also be providing equipment below, such as pens, pencils, crayons etc for people to have green reign to design whatever they would like to.
My surreal world 