Dreamlander
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Graphic Design Artist Uğur Ulusoy
Is the history of the human spirit
A dream is a memory
When the universe is continuing its endless cycle, it starts to spin in a dream realm. Those that happened before us, those who dance with us, and songs that will make themselves heard in the future continue to move around the axis of this realm. The color of the dream realm is infinite; it is fluid and quick. Dream is a wavy and layered planet; the Dreamlander is a local of this planet. His soul is on the road, the journeys he belongs to, and the turtle of his bag in which he carries his drive to create. While the impulses, which are believed to be whittled down over time, are under the threat of being destroyed, this planet offers them a sanctuary. The songs of the world echo in his ear, and he dips his brush into a confection of sensation and color.
In the artist’s world, a dream is not just an experience of sleep; it is a space where conscious and unconscious are intertwined and images, feelings, and connotations meet up. According to Carl Gustav Jung, dreams are a gateway to the unconscious of the individual. However, Jung argues that dreams feed off of the “collective unconscious”, not just the individual unconscious. In other words, dreams are not just the past and desires of an individual, they are also the common myths and archetypes of humanity. Just like a dreamer, the artist also brings together the images in an intuitive process; he brings figures, colors, and forms into existence
in a natural flow. Just like how Jung sees the action of dreaming as a space for exploring one’s inner world, Ulusoy’s art practice visualizes this exploration.
The soul is the ferment of the dream.
When he wakes up, he puts on his dream shirt, listens to the voice of his soul, and ferments his paints by adding a spoonful of his soul into the trays he mixes his paints in. He starts painting, and when minutes turn into hours and hours into days, the ferment of paint remains on the fabrics. The Dreamlander’s brush follows the organic structure of the dream realm. Compositions whose components blend together make visible the points where consciousness and the unconscious intersect. His works of art take the form of a visual dream. According to the Talmud philosophy, if each dream is an interpretation of its own, then each painting is a
letter written to the one who reads it. Here, the subjective nature of the dream interpretation stands out; each person discovers their own meaning in the work of art. According to Jung, a dream is not just a reflection of the past and desires, it also includes unconscious messages about the future. In this context, the artist’s works create spaces where yesterday, today, and tomorrow intersect, where appearance and mystery are intertwined.
A dream is limitless.
This is where the line between reality and dream disappears. The process of creating
transforms into a dream experience; it is not only the paintings that are being seen, you also go into the planet of dreams, move in its flow and explore its layers. The limitless color palette and coming together in the fluid surface of the fabric are also parts of this process. The fact that the artist uses a vivid, vibrant and rich color palette can be addressed as the dynamic reflection of the unconscious. This approach shows us that the dream experience is not just a vague and misty space; on the contrary, it offers an atmosphere where order and diversity are intertwined.
A dream is not blurred.
Paintings evoke the feeling of a dream sequence, reflecting the fluid, ever-changing nature of dreams and life. Scientifically, the brain is most active during REM sleep and images seen during this stage of sleep are usually more vivid and intense. However, this is not the only stage where dreams occur, they can also occur in the deep sleep stage (NREM). Although they are dynamic and memorable, images of the unconscious maintain their existence in every
stage. The art of the Dreamlander is just like this cycle: images transform, surfaces flow, and each detail is subtly rendered and carved into the memory. The limitlessness of the unconscious becomes tangible here with brushstrokes. Dreamlander continues to create with his ever-changing rhythm.
The native of this planet, with which those who dream are familiar, goes beyond the
boundaries of ordinary time through his paintings. The slow progression of time in a dream is a delusion, but the brain works faster and has the power to create everything there, and he makes this power of creation a reality on his planet through his paintings. Just like in Eliade’s concept of sacred time, dreams that connect to mythical time allow one to step outside of ordinary, linear time. The Dreamlander becomes capable of navigating within the realm of myth through their paintings, traversing across different temporal dimensions. In doing so, he
becomes a different part of the past and the cosmic order.
leyladan 