An art installation that taps into dreams, fires up imagination

To help people identify their dreams and nurture them, two artists—one from Finland, another from Romania—have come up with a unique interactive art installation at the Rangoli Metro Art Center in the City.

Entitled ‘Plant Your Dream’, the interactive installation had visitors write their dream on a paper tag and attach it to a ‘dream-tree’. What’s more, as a symbol, the visitor gets to take away a plant pot with them as symbol of nurturing their dream.

Brainchild of two artists—Helena von Schoultz from Finland and Cristina Maiorescu from Romania—the installation had children, adults and people from all walks of life queuing up to write their dream.

Schoultz, a cultural producer and literary artist, said, “This idea grew out of a belief that dreams are just like seeds: for a seed to grow you first have to plant it, then water and nurture it to slowly see it grow. By verbalising a dream, you plant it and by seeing it and being reminded of it every day you will slowly take steps, consciously or unconsciously, towards realising and living that dream. This is why an important part of the installation is giving everyone who participates a small plant to take home—a plant that is a symbol of the dream they have verbalised in the installation.”

According to Maiorescu, a visual artist, “As a pilot exhibition, we hope this experience will give us a deeper understanding of how receptive Bengaluru is to interactive art. It is the people who make this installation come alive and how open they are to leave behind a part of themselves and take along a part of us is something we would love to explore. We also hope that our installation will encourage more participatory art forms in the City and that it will inspire others to come up with similar projects in the future.”

During the two days of the installation, the artists worked together with the participants, inspiring them to verbalise and write down on paper tags dreams they wanted to achieve. The pilot installation consisted of 500 takeaway plant pots surrounding the central ‘dream-tree’.

Officials of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said that the dream-tree installation would remain at the Rangoli Metro Art Center after the exhibition to inspire other people to verbalise their personal dreams and see them through.

For the interactive installation, the artists collaborated with local plant nurseries and pot suppliers. Besides, all dream-pots which were given were made of organic coir material, promoting an eco-conscious exhibition.