“By nature man free (and equal to).”
Immanuel Kant.
“Insomnia may seem to us as an individual need, but it is intimately related other forms of expropriation, with social disintegration and a general state of World lostness connected. Since time immemorial, human cultures associate sleep with death, as both point out that the world continues to exist even without us. But the temporary absence of the sleeper always contains a link to the future, with the Possibility of renewal and hence of freedom. “
Jonathan Crary
Link title and concept of our installation two motifs each other: freedom and sleep as tension. Our ancestors were still firmly convinced the night was there to sleep.
This sounds trivial now and homespun. This there is hardly a more exis- tential among living things evolution historical process as the physiological needs and the need to rest or sleep. To our biological Basic equipment includes the elementary bedroom Wake cycle, which on by a competition and growth, increased productivity, time and Efficiency gains oriented economy is thwarted. From drowsy, sleep-eprived People wreaked disasters, from lack of sleep taken wrong decisions, caused by sleep deprivation health take in mind and body against better Knowledge no end. The scientist and Sleep researcher Juergen Zulley recently the problem short and pithy to the point: “Too little sleep makes you fat, stupid and sick.”
In addition to the disregard for biological-physical Regularities another device, do not less existential and elemental well Pressure: our understanding and use of individual and social freedom. Protection and Securing freedom with all their fundamental rights Its successors and configurations standing in democratic constitutions all over above. Given the political and social Practice of past years suggests itself the times diffuse, sometimes concrete impression that since the Enlightenment more than 200 years ago under unspeakable Victims won liberties laid the Reverse gear. Ironically, the Internet, 20 years ago as a key medium of freedom celebrated against dictatorship and paternalism, transforms itself into a global and nannying-surveillance apparatus – intelligence and intelligence- because of State, but also from data-hungry corporations, where the right to informational self- etermination and privacy a business obstacle. Thomas Ammann and Stefan Aust speaking in its recent issued publication even of “digital dictatorship”.
The diagnosis of Byung-Chul Han does not fall less bleak: “The principle of negativity, which determines the surveillance state of Orwell, gives way to the principle of positivity. In other words, needs are not suppressed, but stimulated. Communication is not suppressed, but maximized. In place of torture extorted confessions occur voluntary exhibition the privacy and the digital illumination the soul. Smartphone replaced torture chamber. […] That is the efficiency of the free Monitoring. Monitoring is to be freedom. Freedom turns out to be control. ”
The genitive construction “sleep of freedom” opened already on the grammatical
Level an ambiguous perspective. Depending on Observation and interpretation change Nouns “sleep” and “freedom” their relationship to each other. In this tension we therefore our installation: Is freedom of sleep? Is Sleep Freedom? It dawns on us or dawn we? We sleepers freedom or follow us her wake-up call? Sleeping freedom embedded, to eternal rest? Or we sleep and in Freedom?
Details:
Implementation / Description
Sound montage
Multiples