Susan Aldworth: The Dark Self exhibition

• Wednesday 7 June - Sunday 3 September 2017, 11am to 4pm (Wednesday to Sunday only)
• Free admission
  No booking required
• York St Mary’s, Castlegate, YO1 9RN (map)
• Wheelchair accessible

Event details

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The Dark Self exhibition by artist Susan Aldworth features prints, installation, moving image and sculptures, all exploring the mystery of what happens to the ‘self’ during deep sleep. 

Susan, the Wellcome Artist in Residence at the University of York, has been exploring the narratives of sleep as part of the three-year The Dark Self project, which brings together art and science in a unique way. The exhibition includes 1001 embroidered pillowcases sewn by people from across the UK, each representing ideas of sleep and dreams.  

We spend a third of our lives asleep and during that time – except for brief periods of wakefulness and recalled dreaming - we are completely unaware of ourselves and our surroundings. However, science has shown that in deep sleep our brains are just as active as when we are awake. It seems, therefore, that the brain actively switches the ‘self’ off during sleep. Deep sleep then is an experience of nothingness but one that is full of fundamental but hidden activity. At the heart of this exhibition is the question of how this activity can be analysed and communicated to others.

This event is supported by York Museums Trust, the University of York, Lotte Inch Gallery, BATES of London and Viking Loom.

About the artist

Susan Aldworth is the Wellcome Artist in Residence at the University of York. Working on location in a medical or scientific academic department is central to her practice. She was previously Artist in Residence at the Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University from 2009 to 2012 and has also curated a number of exhibitions including Reassembling the Self in 2012. Susan is an experimental printmaker and filmmaker referencing philosophy, medicine, and neuroscience in her work exploring human identity.