Last year, Bongsu Park’s Internal Library project culminated in a fascinating and thought-provoking sequence of events in which members of the public were invited to share some of their most private thoughts – dreams, memories, secrets – which were then woven into a set of public performance at Notting Hill’s Print Room. Out of that project has grown a further exploration of people’s dreams, seeking to place a value on them: will the Korean custom of selling dreams catch on here? That was a custom I didn’t know about, but commentary can be found on the Korean Culture Blog and Kimchi Mamas website. Find out more on Bongsu’s project site Dream Auction.
Bongsu Park: Dream Auction
In Korea there is an interesting culture of dealing with dreams. People who have had good dreams for example, such as one involving a pig which traditionally alludes to the arrival of wealth, can actually sell their dream to someone else. Any dream which has a positive interpretation has a value that makes it a desirable asset for someone else to acquire. Koreans buy and sell dreams for fun. I’m going to make this transaction of an intangible asset more external and organized in the form of a public auction.
I’m interested in how our dreams can be expressed externally and shared through and re-imagined in the transactional arena of an art auction. Art forms are becoming more intangible – from the physical to the fluid and ephemeral. I plan to shift the emphasis towards ideas, dreams and desires that cannot be reduced to three-dimensional physical forms. I am hoping to encourage people to see the value in the transaction of ideas and imagined scenarios rather than a physical manifestation of those thoughts.
For the DREAM AUCTION people can register their dreams as text and submit them to the auction through this website. The dreams submitted will be listed as the text written, printed and framed, ready for purchase. The dream will remain unedited from the time of submission with no alterations or corrections can be made thereafter.
The dream will be included in the DREAM AUCTION which will be hosted by a professional Fine Art Auctioneer later in 2019. Monies raised from the auction will go to creative charities (details to follow). In so doing, I hope the process of sharing dreams can positively affect not just those participating, but also other people’s futures and dreams. A record of monies raised for charity will be published in this website.
In tandem with the DREAM AUCTION I’m going to create extended events such as discussions and performances. The first event, a performance, will function as preview for the Dream Auction and also as a ritual in the transfer of dream ownership. It will be held at Access Space in Sheffield on 20th October 2018. An accompanying score will feature musicians Charlie Collins and Ryoko Akama, whilst the participants’ dream texts will be a central component of the sound creation. Further events are being planned.
Bongsu Park
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