“Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task.” Henry James’ words are apt in describing the art-making process, and how it can explore uncertainness through introspection. In the process, the artist and viewer enter into an intangible, unpractical, and highly emotional place that is ultimately the most passionate because it allows them to explore the more ambiguous realms of the self.

This is exactly the intent and effect of “I DREAMT,” New York performance artist Nicholas’ Gorham’s recent production. In it, he lip syncs sound bites by Delia Derbyshire, a leading British electronic musician from the 1960s. He was utterly fascinated by their evocative beauty, and knew he would eventually incorporate them into a performance. The sound recordings are different voices describing a nightmare of being chased, and Nicholas switches from one character to another in a matter of seconds. This is achieved by having light projections of different outfits cast onto his body, which is the sole illuminated presence in a darkened room. Coupled with the haunting repetition of phrases, such as “I’m running away…running, and running, and running” in each of the different voices, the result is dark, painful, but incredibly engrossing especially if you have ever had nightmares.

He plans to take this the exploration of the subconscious further in his upcoming Christmas theater production, also focusing on time, space, identity, and superficiality but with a stronger social commentary. In fact it is all about materiality and consciousness. Set far into the future, society has a greater awareness of the universe and metaphysics. Yet when small things go wrong around Christmas time, chaos still abounds. People cannot let go of their ties to material satisfaction regardless of having superior knowledge. The world has changed, yet stayed the same. He says, “The point is to make work that is really geared through the progression of humanity, and that has an intention of pushing us further. And as an artist is it important that my personal progression is infused in my work as well.” By being unafraid of dissecting states of vulnerability as well as states of consciousness, his work is able to resonate with viewers, which is should, at the heart of it, be the goal of the artistic process.

See his Christmas play December 18th at Wild Projects, and check out the performance of “I DREAMT” at Splatterpool Artspace here.

-Sabeena Khosla