A surreal dream

The Mystic Dream: enlightening

For decades since the 1920s, Surrealism has shaped, at least to a great extent, the representation of dreams in art. No matter if its popularity led to accusations of commercialism, Surrealism became a relatively widespread cultural movement and, especially, its images became icons. Decalcomania, grattage and other techniques were supposed to give painting the psychic automatism proclaimed by André Breton as an essential part of surreal representations. Nonetheless, the subsequent juxtaposition of elements of unrelated contexts, to which certain surreal painters adhered later, brought us some of the most powerful imagery of that movement. They conjugated the Freudian concepts of condensation and displacement – which some would later replace by metaphor and metonymy – to produce surprising, weird images which were supposed to be oneiric.

This is what I saw when I arrived at The Mystic Dream in Second Life: a surreal scene of displacement and condensation. I do not know if the place was directly inspired by Surrealism, but, in my experiences, its images became connected to the surrealistic references I have. Books flying, a floating island, a tree climbing an unlikely lighthouse, a circus of unconventional elements, monster-floaters and so on – all those incongruous items did touch my surreal representation of dreams.

The Mystic Dream: umbrella

A flying cartoonish fairy near the umbrella-boat gives a pleasant child-like touch to the scenery – a touch that is reproduced here and there, all along this artwork called The Mystic Dream, which also brings us elements of desolation and ruin.

The Mystic Dream: resting on a monster

The Mystic Dream: light from above

The Mystic Dream: circus and ruins

The Mystic Dream: in the circus

Something else worth noting is how the atmosphere varies within the sim. Of course, I tried different light settings on my pictures, which intensifies the perception of changes, but I did so because of how each part of the scenery inspired me in a distinct way. That variation could even be called inconsistency elsewhere, but in here it only reinforces to me the idea of experiencing a dreamlike environment. After all, not uncommon are those dreams that change all the time. The cabin near the rock is a good example of what I mean. Who knows what sensations it can bring to people. To me, it brought the idea of some warmth in loneliness.