Ó  N  E  I  R  O

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Immersive installation by Ohii Katya during Romadiffusa festival at Hoxton Hotel Rome.
In collaboration with Tilde Kay Snyder, Eilert Asmervik, Anaïs Horn, Rihanata Bigey, 9Print Studio (Manuel Juno, Lodovico Soliera, Simone La Sorsa)

5-7 April 2024

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Click here to listen to the sound

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Óneiro brings us to the sanctuary of the fictional Cult of Slumber, appearing in the oversaturated world of sleepless creatures.
 

These creatures live in an alternative reality overflowing with information, constantly awake because of particular body structures.

One day, anomalous zones of obscure origin appear in their restless realm. A living creature, once in this zone, falls asleep.

Those beings, having experienced dreams, woke up to tell those who have never slept about the incredible bliss of the enveloping emptiness and the absence of information noise, about the vacuum.

In an oversaturated world, the idea of ​​sleep is captivating. It spreads quickly and becomes a new religion, the Cult of Slumber. 

Pilgrims and tourists seeking epiphany are drawn to such anomalous zones.

 

And yet, the behavior of such zones is unpredictable and the effect is unique for everyone.

For some, nothing ever happens. They either leave for elsewhere or continue to dwell inside the zone waiting for a miracle. Some fall asleep instantly the others only after many years of viscous anticipation.

It is also impossible to foretell the duration of slumber. For some, it lasts seconds. Others have years. And some remain dreaming until their bodies die.

 

 

 

If one dies in slumber, the remains turn into a pure white shell empty inside.

But their consciousnesses continue to live and evolve, trying to communicate with others.
They manifest presence through the text growing from the shell, spreading like ivy throughout the space around, and echoing whispers, telling their experiences of dreaming.
But because the creature already transcended life and became something else-a spirit-and changed immensely, the language changed as well, now incomprehensible to others.
 

In some sense, the dreaming creature gains eternity but remains overrun by the zone forever, turning into a shrine for the sleepless. 

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CREDITS:

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Artist: Ohii Katya @ohiikatya

Production: Ohii Katya @ohiikatya X Romadiffusa @roma_diffusa

Sound design: Eilert Asmervik @eilert__

Voices: Anaïs Horn @anais_horn, Rihanata Bigey @rihanatabigey

Textile production: Tilde Kay Snyder (tildesnyder.com)

3D printing: 9Print Studio (Manuel Juno @juno_iam, Lodovico Soliera @lodosoll, Simone La Sorsa @simolasor )

Photography: Oleksandr Radomskyi