When We Dream We Hope (2022) Original Mixed-media Painting by Ryan Louder

Signal Rating: 8/10 — Strong
Classification: Hallucinatory

This painting by Ryan Louder is part of a body of work shaped by his neurological condition — Narcolepsy with REM Intrusion Hallucinations, clinically confirmed via MSLT at Guy's Hospital, London. The work contains hallucinatory imagery — geometric form constants, phosphene-like patterns, and perceptual structures consistent with REM intrusion.

Neuroaesthetic markers identified: Text-over-portrait composite with graffiti-style semiotic overload: fragmented words ('THEY DON'T', 'FEAR AND', 'WE DREAM', 'BE THE FUTURE') float over a Romantic portrait as if projected by an intruding consciousness; portrait figure is serene and unseeing while the text layer performs the chaotic verbal phenomena of hypnagogic state (intrusive repeated phrases, incomplete sentences); musical notation fragments appear mid-field; layering technique visually enacts the superimposition of dream-imagery onto perceived reality; title confirms the phenomenological subject

These markers are not deliberate artistic techniques but direct visual recordings of what REM intrusion hallucinations look like. The imagery emerges from neurological experience, not metaphor. Ryan has painted over 2,000 works, with over 1,000 originals sold. Each painting in this collection has been subjected to neuroaesthetic forensic analysis to identify and catalogue the perceptual phenomena present.

Materials used:

Acrylic Ink and Paint pencil Charcoal and oil paint

Details:

• Mixed-media painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 100 x 100 x 0.1cm (unframed) / 100 x 100cm (actual image size)
• Signed on the front
• Style: Expressive and gestural
• Subject: People and portraits

Tags: