Susan Philipsz "Did I Dream You Dreamed About Me"（TOKYO）
23 August - 27 August 2011
For the last show in its Nakamego space, Mizuma Art Gallery presents Susan Philipsz’s sound installation ‘Did I Dream You Dreamed About Me’.
Susan Philipsz was awarded the Turner Prize in December 2010 and this short exhibition is a commemoration for the attribution of the UK’s prestigious art prize to the artist.
August 23 (Tue.) – 27 (Sat.)
11:00 – 19:00
‘Did I Dream You Dreamed About Me’
On entering the gallery you hear the sound of my own voice singing a song that I first heard sung by ‘This Mortal Coil’. The song is about a sailors encounter with a siren when he is alone at sea. The sailor yearns to be with the siren and considers dying for love than be driven mad by desire.
There are two elements to the work that play in succession: the unaccompanied song, and the sound of a chiming vibraphone that resonates in the space. The dreamlike descending scale of the vibraphone may suggest the sailor succumbing to the sirens spell. The sound reverberates through the space, emphasising the emptiness of the gallery, evoking a feeling of being alone, disorientated; the sailor adrift in the vast ocean and the darkened room become one.
Music can be a form of escape. It can transport you to another place and time, to some far off distant land, without having to leave your room. However hearing someone singing privately can have the opposite effect. It can heighten ones sense of self while making you more aware of the place your in.
―Susan Philipsz
