Artwork description:

At the heart of the present day Chamber Of Dreams is The Vessel Of Dreams.
Its beginnings are believed to lie in ancient Greece. The legend goes that it was created to serve as a way to ask the Gods for favourable treatment.
It then disappears for 1000 years, and turns up in an ancient shipwreck discovered by Italian pearl divers.
It is taken in by an unconventional priest and given pride of place in its own underground room. Descriptions of the time refer to its ability to grant wishes. Italian writers also refer to a Greek text that described petitioners standing on a mysterious painted disc in front of the Vessel. Church documents from the period reported that while the outside of the vessel was encrusted from its time under the sea, the interior gleamed like gold and never needed cleaning.
Around the late sixteenth century it disappears again, only to re-appear in the estate chapel of the Orton family in Northumberland. Again it is housed in an underground crypt. The family used to place their wishes into the vessel written on parchment. Once a year, they would open the crypt to their servants and tenant farmers for them to ‘offer their dreayms’ for consideration by ‘mystic forces’. It seems this made for quite an entertaining festive day! Peasants would cast a piece of crumpled up cloth containing their dream, in the hope of getting it to land in the Vessel. As virtually none of them could write, they instead whispered their dream into the piece of cloth before casting it.
Sometime in the seventeenth century, the Vessel disappeared again and the crypt was walled up. When the crypt was opened again in the mid nineteenth century, the Vessel was redisplayed, more as a fascinating antiquity for guests visiting the Orton family. With most of the guests being literate, they were provided with paper and pencils to write their wildest dreams on. Old furniture from the estate was provided to facilitate this, giving the crypt ‘the appearance of the most humble village school room!’ according to one visitor. Guests or family members would then stand on The Circle Of Desire, as the peasants had in their time, and try to cast their Dream into the Vessel.
The layout of the crypt, the rustic barriers and the cast-off furniture remained very much unchanged when the National Estate Preservation Trust took over the house and chapel in 1909 due to the Orton family’s decline. The crypt was cleared for the period encompassing the two World Wars, but in 1957, Sir Bernard Farringdon of the NEPT took upon himself the task of re-displaying the Vessel to reflect how it had been seen and used in the past.

As we see it today, the rustic barriers have been researched, remade and utilised to deal with large numbers of visitors. Pieces of estate furniture have been introduced to allow visitors to write their Dreams on the newly introduced Dream Pages (using only pencils of course). The Dream Page provides a set of rules, which the visitor may respect, if they consider that it will have any bearing upon the likelihood of their Dream coming true. The wording is careful to avoid guaranteeing any particular outcome based on getting the Dream Page into the Vessel.

It’s a fact of modern life and contemporary tourist management that the area around the original artefacts, The Circle and The Vessel, now features NEPT colour branding, signage for the visitors, a collection box, and a full CCTV system. However, most people report favourably on the experience offered. When you stand on The Circle of Desire and cast your Dream, you are part of a human activity stretching back more than two thousand years, and who knows, some Dreams may come true.

The above is a fictional commentary on the very real artwork detailed below;

In 'The Chamber Of Dreams' art installation you can wish for anything. It's an immersive, interactive artwork that can put you on the spot and help you to focus on what’s really important in life.
Will your Dream be more likely to come true if you can cast it into the mystical vessel? It can quickly start feeling as if you are the hero in a magical fantasy, far away and long ago, with a serious challenge to overcome. Money, fame and sex, or Love, happiness and health, for you or your loved ones? There are choices to be made.....



The Chamber Of Dreams is an installation art-work originally commissioned for an exhibition of site specific works to be viewed in the underground vaults of Southampton over a period of three months in 2007
Aspace Arts ran this series for three years, and this work was seen by over 1500 people.
This artwork was originally conceived to focus on a very fleeting human experience. When we aim/throw something at a target, the very moment it leaves our hand, we can no longer have any practical influence on it. Thus all our intent has to be in preparation and action. Steadying the mind, judging the distance, freeing but tensing the muscles just so. And then comes the ‘moment’ when the object leaves the hand. We transition from active agent to observer.

Air safety researchers determined that those people who mentally rehearse escaping from a flaming plane beforehand are more likely to survive a real incident, I wanted to create an experiential art work that would put visitors very much in the moment as they attempt a physical task, giving them a rehearsal for a crucial action.

The site was to be an underground 14th century vaulted room (see photos). That gave me the idea that I could create a seductive fantasy experience that would help lead to the ‘moment’. With the contemporary interest in fantasy literature and film (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings etc), and fantasy video gaming/dungeons and dragons, I wanted to create an experiential story that would bring a realistic weight of apparent consequence to a playful fantasy task. Anyone could step into this magical fantasy, and be put to the test.

To make it practical and more familiar, I wanted the surrounding environment to be as if it had been co-opted by the contemporary heritage/tourism industry, as many historic sites are to secure their future.
I then worked out the story of The Vessel Of Dreams and The Circle Of Desire (capital letters are a must), to create the experiential process and the environment I wanted.

The Dream Page text was crucial in putting participants in the right frame of mind. It blends rules and playfulness.

During the three month exhibition, over fifteen hundred people experienced The Chamber Of Dreams. They mostly entered into it in a playful spirit. A few felt such activities of (apparent) chance were against their religion and wouldn’t take part, which was also an interesting reaction considering that it is just a human creation, with no mystical guarantees.

The original Chamber Of Dreams set up seen here (minus the vault) has been offered for sale to Damien Hirst, and he has first refusal on it.
As the artist, I am offering these custom-made Chambers Of Dreams to allow anyone to own one at price below that set for the original.
All the elements will be of an equal or higher quality than the original. The CCTV will be more professional and the signage will be finished to a high standard.

The price includes a site visit to your chosen location in the UK. Outside the UK, travel and accommodation will be charged at cost.

Your Chamber Of Dreams will be constructed on and off site to specifications negotiated with you, with any agreed adjustment of cost, up or down, depending on options required/your special requirements.
Your Chamber Of Dreams will then be installed, typically over two to four days.

Outside of the UK, costs will likely be incurred employing local craftsmen to fabricate some elements to specification, or renting workshop space/tools if necessary, or extra shipping/transport.
Any modifications to your chosen location will be at your expense. (Safety work/testing, access, blackout shutters, electrical work etc).

The physical objects included in the price are;
The Vessel Of Dreams
The Circle Of Desire (Each is a one-off hand painted design)
‘Public’ signage
Spot lighting
Day/night CCTV with recorder and audio/dummy CCTV.
1000 Dream Pages
Pencils
Two rustic tables and four chairs/stools.
Custom made rustic fencing to guide the ‘public’ (friends/relatives/clients)
A secure collection box
NEPT (fictional) brand colour paint if required.

This is a site-specific installation, and you will have to consider its appropriateness for any space you want it to occupy. It will most suit an old and unsophisticated space. An unused cellar, a barn, possibly an attic.
But, if you want to site it in a minimalist corridor overlooking the sea, then I will recommend adaptations to suit, by negotiation.

I would recommend the minimum dimensions for the location of this piece would be;
A floor area three metres wide by seven metres long, although smaller spaces may be adapted to. Send a message with your details if in any doubt.

This is art, but it doesn’t feel like it. It’s playful, thought provoking, personal and truly interactive.

By owning a Chamber Of Dreams you will be able to give friends, family or clients a unique and memorable experience. You will also be a Guardian of a Vessel Of Dreams. I hope you will find it as fascinating and enjoyable as I did.

I would be happy to know that this artwork is out there, helping people to ask themselves the most important question. What Dream would I most want to come true?
Some of the Dreams from the original are shown in a separate image.
Yes, you can collect them from your installation and read them now and again, but they will be anonymous!

Production and installation may take up to two months.

Materials used:

Ceramic, paper, wood, paint, electrical, plastic,

Tags: