“Dream Minds” is a social investigation into our subconscious reality. Every Monday from July 23, 2012 to July 22, 2013, I interview people about their sleep dreams. I interview 52 people in total. Each “Dream Minds” participant receives a painting and a poem about their dream. Through this investigation I am exploring the diversity of our subconscious realm and making connections between our dream state and reality. I am interviewing a broad section of the population in terms of class, gender, race and sexuality and placing myself in different situations to make this possible.

In a month-long performance in October 2012 at 6018 North, I invited “Dream Minds” participants to perform their poems in public space. When participants took the poems I had written and created their own performances, the work began to take on a life of its own. What happens when our most private lives are inserted into public space? The dynamic of our private lives being inserted into the public realm is part of my agenda as the creator of the Out of Site Chicago performance series and in terms of my own artistic practice. As an artist working in the paradigm of private versus public, I see it as a social imperative to engage directly with the broader public. When our private lives are placed in a public context, questions are raised about humanity, and when we are able to address these personal concerns, my hope is that we can collectively gain a greater sense of humanity as a society.