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THE DREAM AS RESISTANCE The dream occupies a special position in Surrealism, as a gateway to the unconscious and a prerequisite for the construction of alternative worlds and futures. Without first imagining the seemingly impossible, the utopian, we can never work to achieve it. Early on, the movement identifies miserabilism as its counterpart and enemy – the attitude that injustice and exploitation are inherent parts of life. The call to dare to dream in order to shape one’s own future makes Surrealism particularly relevant to groups fighting for their independence. From Latin America and Eastern Europe, magical realism is spreading internationally, unsettling the notion of an absolute reality.
“Always be ready for the miraculous”, urges poet and activist Suzanne Césaire. “Surrealism is the tightrope of our hope.” Césaire’s group in the Caribbean island of Martinique was part of the international Négritude movement. From the 1930s and onwards they promoted an art that challenged the colonial order and embraced African spiritualism. The tropical flowers and enveloping vegetation of the jungle take on a special charge in Caribbean art as animistic landscapes between life and dream – vibrant spaces from which to draw energy.
The radical Surrealist ideas of a fundamental revolution that begins within each of us live on into the present. Metamorphosis and transformation remain keywords, and many experiment with shamanism and magic as tools. Others are exploring speculative technologies, such as cybernetics or artificial intelligence, in the creation of alternative realities. Opening up new worlds and changing their given form – from human to animal, machine to creature, powerless to sovereign – is fully in line with the idea of an ongoing Surrealist evolution.
