THE COLLECTIVE DREAM (2010-current)
“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person, wrote Oscar Wilde in “The Critic as Artist” (1891). Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” This proverb finds its deepest meaning in Alexandra Gibson’s fascinating anonymous series. Sometimes seductive, often frightening, always enigmatic, deeply sensual and mysterious, her masked characters whisper a new sort of truth. These black and white photographs are at the same time light and dark, funny and tragic. They move the viewer in so many directions that it is impossible to reduce their power with simple worlds. The artist talks about a “collective dream.” Indeed, as art itself was created in the Greek Tragedy, those masks bring us somewhere else : in a dream-world where everything is possible, and everybody can become a character, an artist."
-Yann Perreau, critique d'art
Photographed in 21 countries in 12 years, The Collective Dream is a series of conceptual photographs focused on the idea that our souls are the intangible breath of life. The sacred is found in each environment by obscuring the immediate personality of the subject to elevate the visual dialogue between spirit and terrain. The Collective Dream enunciates and underlines themes of spirituality and the human experience.
In a current world obsessed with identity, Gibson's photographs remove identity with the use of masks to remind us of the importance of unity and the essential necessity of connecting to our souls. In today’s upheaval, bigotry, and shocking violence we are pressing on the values of our time. This series invites people to come together to create a more inclusive world by reminding us that we are all having a collective experience on a soul level. T