charmaine li

selected { ⊹projects  ⊹writing }

about

ONEIRIC SPACE (2019 – present)⊹writing ⊹publishing ⊹gathering ONEIRIC SPACE is a research and publishing project that reflects on the porous boundaries between nightly dreams and waking life. 

In 2019, I launched ONEIRIC SPACE as an online interview publication in collaboration with writer Effie Efthymiadi and Studio Push. Stemming from my personal dream journalling practice, the project aimed to spark dialogue about the multifaceted nature of dreams and the various approaches to engaging with these nightly experiences. Since then, it has grown into a newsletter series, irl gatherings, publications, and collaborative events. 

ONEIRIC SPACE is shaped and informed by the artists, researchers, and practitioners we’ve spoken to and collaborated with. Gatherings have been held at ACUD Galerie, Callie’s, kwia, Haus am Lützowplatz, Künstlerdorf Schöppingen, Burg Hülshoff - Center for Literature, Insola, and the Museum of Architecture and Design Ljubjlana. 

Featured on: 032c, Eye on Design, CLOT Magazine, METAL Magazine, It’s Nice That

the breath of water and wind (2024) ONEIRIC SPACE⊹writing  ⊹gathering
the breath of water and wind was a participatory reading presented by ONEIRIC SPACE as part of Naive Yearly, a gathering organized by Kristoffer Tjalve. It was held at the Museum of Architecture and Design Ljubljana. I spoke alongside Nathalie Lawhead, Agnes Cameron, Kim Kleinert, Daniel Murray, Reuben Son, Tiger Dingsun, and Kaloyan Kolev.

During an outdoor session, I invited attendees to contemplate the more-than-human beings—both in dreams and in our immediate surroundings—through a grounding exercise, readings, and reflective prompts. The texts read aloud wove together personal dream journal fragments, research gathered through ONEIRIC SPACE and anonymous responses from previous participatory readings.  
            
Sound: Alexis Chan with the Ljubljanica River
Leaflet design: Daryn Roongrawewan
Sources & Inspirations: on Are.na

More on the ideas circling around this participatory reading on
Are.na Editorial, where I adapted the texts into a meandering essay.

This project was initiated at Est-Nord-Est & supported by the Canada Council for the Arts

Dream Matter (2023) ONEIRIC SPACE ⊹publishing
Dream Matter is part-artist’s book, part-reflective journal. Structured to evoke the sensation of wading through dream memories, it features a repeated image that slowly comes into focus. The publication is interspersed with questions delving into the interplay between dreams and waking. These pages can be unfolded to reveal excerpts from ONEIRIC SPACE interviews with artists, researchers, and practitioners, opening up space for voices to mingle and dialogue with the reader’s own experiences.

Published by ONEIRIC SPACE with guidance from Artist’s Book Workshop/Claudia de la Torre. Special thanks to Alexis Chan and Meg Miller.

20 x 14.3cm. 35 pages. Paperback cover. Glue binding.
Digital, monochrome on colored paper. Edition of 50.

25 EUR. Available at Printed Matter. Email for inquiries

Wading Thru Dreams, 2gether (2023 – present)
ONEIRIC SPACE ⊹writing ⊹gathering
Wading Thru Dreams, 2gether is a participatory reading that reflects on how nightly visions are enmeshed with our inner and outer worlds. Through a series of readings and guided activities, the session invites participants to consider dreams as both personal and collective phenomena by engaging the body and senses. Drawing from personal dream experiences and ONEIRIC SPACE research, the texts read aloud offer variouss perspectives and approaches to engaging with dream life. 

Set to a soft backdrop of sound and scent, the format questions the conventions of traditional public readings — often directed at the brain while ignoring the body in space. It also examines how visual, auditory, olfactory, and spatial elements might influence encounters with memory, language, and knowledge. 

Sound by Alexis Chan

Held at: ACUD Galerie (Berlin, 2024), kwia x Vorspiel (Berlin, 2024), Burg Hülshoff - Center for Literature’s Denkfabrik program (Münster, 2023), Künstlerdorf Schöppingen’s CAP Program: Beyond Literature (Schöppingen, 2023)

This project started as an experiment in collective dream reflection during a residency at Künstlerdorf Schöppingen.

starlight speaks to stone ONEIRIC SPACE

⊹writing

starlight speaks to stone is a videopoem installation that meditates on what it means to dream with and of the earth in the midst of climate catastrophe.

Presented at Est-Nord-Est’s open studios (Spring 2024), the work-in-progress video poem brings fragments of my dream journals in dialogue with anonymous responses from a participatory reading in Berlin. Lines – both recited and partially displayed on screen – are combined with personal footage gathererd from the past couple of years, including my time at St. Jean-Port-Joli for the residency. Sound composed by Alexis Chan

The accompanying installation – made from fabrics, stones, projection, speakers, and a tea set – invited viewers to take a moment to pause and contemplate the kinds of knowledges that surface in dreams. How might ecological upheavals affect dream landscapes? Can attending to nightly visions open up different pathways for listening to nonhuman beings?

This project was initiated at ENE, after coming across the term ‘videopoetry’ in the book ‘Poetry in Performance’ by Tom Konyves .

Practicing Ecosensibility  Atmos

⊹writing

For an exhibition at Gropius Bau, artist Zheng Bo leads a series of exercises to help visitors move beyond a human-centered perpective of the world. Can these practices teach us how to bond with other natural life forms?

Read more on Atmos

Zoey Gong on the role of mushrooms in traditional
Chinese Medicine Mushroom People

⊹writing

For the inaugural issue of Mushroom People, I interviewed chef and nutritionist Zoey Gong about how edible mushrooms are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, why she loves reishi, and where to find “mushroom heaven” in China.

More about the issue

Iris Van Herpen: The Unknownness of Everything mono.kultur #47

⊹writing

Iris van Herpen has consistently created pieces that defy easy classification, combining exquisite artistry with sheer inventiveness. Her designs can be read as an idiosyncratic language, one that does not rely on clearly defined words and certainties, but filters the many currents that inform our everyday. 

mono.kultur #47 / Summer 2019 / English / 15 x 20 cm  
48 Pages / Pages trimmed to different sizes

Interview by me / Photography by Mathieu Cesar; Robert Clark; Bryan Huynh; Inez & Vinoodh; ioulex; Nick Knight; Luigi & Iango; Jean-Baptiste Mondino; Armin Morbach; Petrovsky & Ramone; Warren du Preez & Nick Thornton Jones; Ronald Stoops; Emma Summerton; Sølve Sundsbø; Juergen Teller; Ellen von Unwerth; Duy Vo; Michel Zoeter
 / Design by mono.studio

More about the issue
Featured on ShowStudio, Flash Art, Friends of Friends

 

𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓃𝑜𝓌?