S7 Ep4: Sleep Well, Sweet Dreams | 24/7

Somerset House Podcast

How did you sleep last night? Artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, and writer Stuart Evers paint a possible future for our sleep and dreams in a 24/7 world.
Artists explore the non-stop nature of modern life.

Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard discuss their work Somnoproxy, a futuristic bedtime story with writer Stuart Evers, which features as part of the exhibition 24/7. This immersive audio installation centres on the fictional story of someone who sleeps on behalf of wealthy executives, too busy to sleep themselves. It’s a state-of-the-art sonic escape from reality, complete with a dream-machine designed by Brion Gysin, ‘viewed’ with the eyes closed. The pulsating light can produce Hypnagogia, the experience of the transitional state from wakefulness to sleep.

‘Sleep coincides with the metabolizing of what is ingested by day: drugs, alcohol, all the detritus from interfacing with illuminated screens; but also the flood of anxieties, fears, doubts, longings, imaginings of failure or the big score.’ — Jonathan Crary

Featuring contributions from exhibition curator Sarah Cook and Jonathan Reekie, co-curator of 24/7 and Director of Somerset House.

The exhibition 24/7 - A Wake Up Call For Our Non-Stop World at Somerset House takes visitors on a multi-sensory journey from the cold light of the moon to the fading warmth of sunset through five themed zones and contains over 50 multi-disciplinary works that will provoke and entertain. The exhibition runs at Somerset House until 23 February 2020.

Producer: Eleanor Scott

Sound Design: Harry Murdoch

Mixed by Nick Ryan

Featuring excerpts from Somnoproxy, an audio installation by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. Story by Stuart Evers. Read by Enzo Cilenti and Kate Ashfield. Originally commissioned by Moog Sound Lab UK with support from the Adonyeva Foundation.