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In 1985 Sigmund Freud wrote and published his 'Studien über Hysterie', in some ways the germinal work for the later theory of psychoanalysis. The book was the report of Freud's experiences with patients suffering from hysteria and its most important finding was the fact that people are aware under hypnosis of events which they can no longer remember while in a conscious state. Ken Feingold uses this intriguing phenomenon as the theme for 'July 24 1985 Sleeping Room'. The installation consists of two rooms side by side, called respectively 'July 24 1895' and 'Sleeping Room'. These rooms, with adjacent entrances, are filled with materials from the natural world, and with paintings, sculptures and monitors. On one of the walls is a plaque bearing the inscription: "In this house on July 24 1895 the secret of dreams was revealed to Dr Sigmund Freud". This is a quotation from Freud, who once jokingly suggested to a friend that such a plaque should be fastened to the wall of his house after his death. A joke? The secret of dreams, as Freud so secretly described it, is indeed the essence of psychoanalysis as expressed by Feingold in these two rooms.
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Erik Quint
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