Lucid Dreams

Memories, dreams and visions influence the often melancholy and dark works of artist, filmmaker, musician and poet Wojciech Bąkowski. He is interested in mental processes and exploring the construction and boundaries of subjective reality as well as ways in which it is influenced, such as through lucid dreaming. Born and raised in the Polish city of Poznań, everyday places from his childhood and present-day life shape the atmosphere and aesthetics of Bąkowski’s works. These might be the small, labyrinthine apartments of a 1970s housing estate, corridors where long shadows are cast, or elevators and railway tracks.

In conversation with Moritz Scheper, director of the Neue Essener Kunstverein, Bąkowski describes his artistic practice involving dream structures and gives insights into the process of his new works, which will be on display at Ruhr Ding: Schlaf.