The end of a dream

The end of a dream
A painting at the AGNSW “The end of a dream” (1908, by G. Pennasilico) leads me to wonder what hopes and dreams occupied the minds of travellers in the past. It shows an obviously upper-class woman looking a bit dishevelled, in a beautiful dress, in a beautiful room, with a serving maid behind her. It’s coppery tones and feathery paint strokes imply a romantic, romance fiction fire-lit aura. How did he envision the future when he painted that? Not just his personal fate, but the destiny of civilisation.
What would people from the past think of us if they were deposited into the 21st century?
In order to explore these speculations I intend to tell a story. Inhabiting the Sleeper with hot glue objects, radio music, scent and lighting, to project a traveller’s dream into the atmospheric antique interior of the Sleeper coach enabling the viewers to partake of their for bearers reverie.
This work was produced as part of 24:7 at the Canberra Railway Museum




Detail hot glue words: Mr.Speaker
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Install detail, paint on cloth, light, paper, bowl