Feature: Stimulating slumber
11 December 2007. By Chrissie Giles.
What do the benzene ring, the tune to the Beatles' song 'Yesterday' and the lock-stitch sewing machine have in common? Well, legend has it that they all came about thanks, in part, to inspiring dreams.
'Sleeping & Dreaming', the second major temporary exhibition to grace the 600 m2 space at Wellcome Collection, was previously shown at The Museum of Man (Deutsches Hygiene-Museum) in Dresden, and contains a fascinating mix of objects, interactive exhibits and artworks; the artists represented range from Francisco Goya to sculptor Ron Mueck.
The exhibits are divided into five main themes, which together aim to help visitors to explore the neurological processes behind sleep, as well as the social and cultural aspects of sleep and dreams.
One of the themes, 'Dead Tired', explores the ways humans have tried to go without sleep over the years, while 'Traces of Sleep' explores historical theories of sleep - from those of the Ancient Greeks, who believed that sleeping was a form of death, to those of Hans Berger, inventor of the EEG machine and the first to show that the sleeping brain is active.
The idea of dreams as riddles, revelations or enigmas is also explored in the exhibition. Visitors can examine Freud's 'The Interpretation of Dreams', the publication that put dream analysis at the centre of a new way to understand the unconscious, alongside a painting by the 'Wolf Man' (one of Freud's best-known patients) of his dream that was famously analysed by Freud.
The final two themes look at what sleeping means to us today. 'World Without Sleep' examines things that have caused our sleeping habits to change, from artificial lighting to jet lag. 'Elusive Sleep' explores the means by which we try to get a good night's rest. Among the exhibits are some 25 alarm clocks, including one that lights a candle, and one that - let's hope you're not already up and about when it goes off - fires a pistol.
’Sleeping & Dreaming’ runs until 10 March 2008.
Image: ‘Sleep Concert’, Miyashita Fumio