Exhibit Fifteen: Acquired by the Dream Gallery 27
July 1999
'Imaginify'
~ kindly
donated by the artist (haute lisse woven tapestry), Garry Benson: contact Garry here
Feeling
The Picture
Your feeling reactions to a dream are keys to its interpretation. These are my feelings. If this were a scene in your dream or life, how would you feel about being there?
Imaginify stirs up feelings of
contrast and paradox for me. The feeling of achievement (man’s first steps forward on
the moon) contrasts with a feeling of destruction (polluting the moon with the coke can
and the Kodak packet). The ‘steps forward’ (progress) are, paradoxically,
‘steps backwards’ (pollution and invasion of perhaps virginal territory). I feel
that the woman is inside the suit – not a reflection. Although I see only one face, I
feel that there are two people: the astronaut who can breathe easily with the aid of
oxygen cylinders, and the woman who, by contrast, cannot breathe easily because she is
trapped inside a confined space without breathing apparatus. The woman gives me a feeling
of stepping back, of not wanting to see the new territory, of denial, of fear and sorrow.
The astronaut’s stance makes me feel solid, confident and ready for all things new. I
cannot see the astronaut’s face, but I feel he is a man and I feel a strong overall
sense of male presence in this piece.
In summary I feel contrasts:
achievement/destruction, steps forward/steps backwards, progress/invasion, breathing
easily/suffocating, space/confinement, exploration/denial and confidence/fear. One of the
strongest paradoxes, for me, is the feeling that the ‘faceless’ man is
confidently ‘facing’ new territory. Another paradox is that I didn’t draw
the obvious conclusion that the woman was facing the astronaut and that her face was a
reflection in his helmet until later: (she is, paradoxically, facing herself). This is a
perfect example of how, in dreams and in life, the logical brain frequently steps aside to
make way for our over-riding unconscious reaction to an image.
The Symbols
Symbols in your dreams often relate to your personal memories and associations, so always consider those first. Then let your mind play with other, more general possibilities. They will not all apply! Just open your mind and notice where the symbol seems to fit and make sense of the rest of your dream.
Dreams love creating visual cliches and puns, so
any dream set in space or on a planet other than Earth could be playing out themes of
feeling "spaced out", "on another planet". You might dream-visit the
moon to look back on your life on Earth from the distance. The astronaut might symbolise
adventure, exploration or pioneering.
The moon can symbolise the ‘female
side’ of ourselves (the Yin, or anima). The moon, seen most clearly in the darkness
of night can represent Yin intuition: the light that shines into the unconscious
(symbolised by the night). This is in contrast to the sun which can represent the
‘male side’ (the Yang, or animus): our conscious self, our self-knowledge (that
which has been brought up from the unconscious into the light of day). So if this image
was a freeze-frame from a dream, it might symbolise exploration of the Yin side, discovery
of the unconscious. Perhaps the confident, pioneering, ‘male side’ is coming
face-to-face with the ‘female side’ of the dreamer of this dream.
There is a stark contrast between the generally
darker and muted colours of the main image and the bright red and blue within the helmet.
Colours in dreams generally hold personal symbolism for each dreamer. However, the more
universal symbolism for red includes assertiveness, energy, physicality, danger and anger.
Blue can symbolise healing and communication, but as the blue in this image seems to be
sky, it may symbolise consciousness (that which is light in comparison to that which is
dark). Did you notice the contrast between the moon set against the night sky and the
woman set against daylight? The symbolism throughout this image heavily suggests contrast
between the male and female sides. Yet in contrast there is also self discovery and
balance.
The Questions
Here are some questions the dreamer of such a dream picture might ask to work towards a complete understanding of the dream.
Try these yourself: just give your 'gut reaction' answers to the questions - your answers will surprise you in the insights they deliver. The key thing to remember is, "Don't THINK about your answers - give quick gut reaction replies". Your unconscious will deliver.
If this process can work powerfully for this image, consider how infinitely more powerful the insights are when the image comes from one of your own dreams - direct from your unconscious!
1. What is the sex and age of the astronaut?
2. What planet is this?
3. What is the purpose of this visit?
4. Where is the woman standing?
5. What age is the woman?
6. What was happening in your life when you were these ages (Q1 and Q5)?
7. If you have not yet reached either of these ages yet, how do you see
yourself and your life when you look ahead to these times?
8. What is the secret of this planet? (What is there to discover)?
9. If the planet had a personality, what would it be?
10. How much of this personality is within you? Is it clear to see,
deeply buried inside, held at arm’s length or not yet discovered?
11. How would your life change if you expressed this personality?
12. How would the astronaut answer Q11?
13. How would the woman answer Q11?
14. What is the woman feeling?
15. When did you last feel like this and about what?
16. What would the astronaut advise you to do about your situation in
Q15?
'Imaginify'
a haute lisse woven tapestry
by
Garry Benson
Kindly donated for exhibition at the
Dream Gallery by the artist:
Garry Benson
Managing Editor
Tao Arts Pty Ltd
garrybenson@writeme.com
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