Dana Henry Martin

Dreams

  • Dreams as Reality

    What if waking is just what we do because we need to survive and sleeping (and similar states) are where… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • The Last Woman Experiments

    I dreamed about a body of research that was established by the federal government called The Last Woman Experiments. They… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–4 minutes

  • The Deconsolidation

    I dreamed there was a mass psyche-extinction event in the United States called The Deconsolidation. It scrambled people’s memories, jumbled… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Realms Beautiful and Terrifying

    Awake is my least favorite word when I don’t want to be. Our water purifier started making a high-pitched noise… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • Dead, I Wanted to Live

    I dreamed I died. I saw my body lying on its side on a gurney. I was wearing a blue… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–4 minutes

  • Living Through Destruction

    I just woke up from a dream that I was driving through Canyonlands while Harold Budd and Brian Eno’s “Not… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • The Egg

    I had a dream that all male software engineers were held in such high esteem that they became their own… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    2–3 minutes

  • Dreams

    I dreamed I was a mattress. A thin, hard mattress. I was also me. I sat on myself. Human me… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • Baby Zebras

    I dreamed Jon died. I mourned for two years. Then I saw an ad for an AI dream companion. It… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    1–2 minutes

  • On Writing, Poetry, Health, Trauma, Surviving, and Lucid Dreams

    This essay was written on Twitter throughout the day on January 1, 2023. — I’m drafting a new essay here… Read more.

    Dana Henry Martin
    10–15 minutes

PROCESS

  • Map and Research: Investigate the historical, geological, and ecological context of each collection site or reverse the direction, mapping sites based on ancestral and historical narratives.
  • Forage: Gather natural materials ethically, respectfully, and with permission.
  • Transform: Process foraged materials into custom mediums and physical resources for art-making.
  • Weave: Track the stories held within the land, braiding personal, ancestral, and ecological histories.
  • Create: Generate studies and finished artwork informed by the sites and physically composed of the materials collected.

  • Limits: Not all sites will be safe or accessible, which means some spaces cannot be entered, and some stories will remain incomplete. An empty container can signify these omissions.

purpose

ethics

Responsible Exploration: Committing to mindful presence, permission-based foraging, and minimal-impact exploration on every site.

Meaning

Embodied Storytelling: Engaging in sensory, place-based creation that connects the maker and viewer to the specific location and to the physical earth.

Reclamation: Unearthing and honoring lost, fractured, or overlooked histories embedded in the landscape.

Material Transformation: Celebrating the alchemy of turning raw, gathered earth into tangible, expressive art.

community

Public Education: Sharing the ecological and historical narratives of the sites to foster a deeper collective awareness.

Active Participation: Creating opportunities for community participation, engagement, and shared connection through the work.