Tim Silver: Oneirophrenia

Oneirophrenia: From the greek words oneiros, ‘dreams’, and phrenos, ‘mind’ A hallucinatory, dreamlike state caused by several conditions such as prolonged sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation or drugs.

In Greek mythology, the Oneiroi are the personifications of dreaming: Morpheus, the winged god of dreams, can take human form; Phobetor is the personification of nightmares, appearing in the guise of animals or monsters; and Phantasos is known for creating dreams of surreality or illusion.

In Oneirophrenia, Silver presents a typology of self-portraits in the form of classical busts. Their iconic form and dense arrangement evokes a quintessential fine arts atelier or workshop, yet their surreal, at times grotesque nature adds a strong sense of the absurd.

In opposition to more traditional sculptural materials such as bronze that aspire towards permanence, Silver often uses organic or entropic materials which degrade and change form over time, including wax crayon, putty, fairy floss and chocolate. Here the artist has packed his heads with bread dough, which, as it rises, ruptures through his plaster skin, fracturing the classical forms with unique and random mutations of matter.