Us as a Poem of Delusion

For the “Resistance of the Sleepers” exhibition at UCCA Dune Museum (China)

























Us as a Poem of Delusion is an installation by Ana Montiel, created specifically for the 2020 exhibition Resistance of the Sleepers at the UCCA Dune Museum (Beidaihe, China).

The first work in the installation, Aperture (A Prelude into Meaning), consists of two silver-chromed gongs activated by visitors upon entering and exiting the exhibition space. The piece emphasizes the threshold between one space and another, serving as an analogy for transitions between different states of consciousness.

The Translucent Mind is a series of ethereal digital paintings that revolve around questions concerning the limits of conscious awareness, the depths of the unconscious, and the pervasive uncertainty underpinning the consensus reality we inhabit. Within the exhibition space, fifteen works from The Translucent Mind series are presented, each accompanied by its title inscribed on Carrara marble. In addition, two large-format The Translucent Mind works are installed on the ceiling windows, allowing natural light to filter through them at specific moments of the day, subtly altering the space and amplifying its intangible, contemplative atmosphere.

Complementing the onsite works, the installation includes a sound piece in the form of a curated playlist, available on both QQ and Spotify, intended to be experienced while moving through the exhibition, further deepening the immersive quality of the encounter.























































THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
VII : Losing Sight of Ourselves (Communion)
Digital painting on clear acrylic  (51 x 37cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (4,5cm x 22cm x 1.5cm)








THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
XV : Rising Above Ourselves (A Transpersonal Prayer), 2020 Digital painting on clear acrylic  (63 x 66cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (2,2cm x 25,5cm x 1.5cm)























































THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
III : Braiding Our Experience by Dreaming Aloud, 2020
Digital painting on clear acrylic  (60 x 43cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (3.4cm x 19cm x 1.5cm)













THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
V : Us Becoming a Song in Our Dreams, 2020 Digital painting on clear acrylic  (40 x 70cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (7cm x 22,5cm x 1.5cm)















































THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
VIII : At Nights We Rise Above Reason to Settle in a State of Ecstasy, 2020 Digital painting on clear acrylic  (75 x 53cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (7cm x 32cm x 1.5cm)












































THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
II : Reflections, Projections, Illusions, 2020
Digital painting on clear acrylic  (45x40cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (7,6cm x 27cm x 1.5cm)




THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
XIV : This Ouroboric State. Like a Vision of the Future, Like a Dream of the Present, 2020
Digital painting on clear acrylic  (30 x 67cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (3.2cm x 20cm x 1.5cm)











































THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
XIII : In a Circle of Silence and Devotion (Undercurrents)
Digital painting on clear acrylic  (30 x 67cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (6,2cm x 19,4cm x 1.5cm)






THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
XII : Reason as Inner Utopia, 2020
Digital painting on clear acrylic  (51 x 37cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (1,9cm x 20cm x 1.5cm)

























































For this selection, I sought an ethereal undertone in resonance with the conceptual territory explored in Us as a Poem of Delusion, the site-specific installation created for the UCCA Dune Museum. The works that form part of Us as a Poem of Delusion reflect on the limits of our conscious knowledge and gesture toward the depths of the unconscious.

Are we sharing a hyperreal, lucid dream?
Is our perception a kind of tidal lock, continually revealing only what we inadvertently choose to see?
Are we caught within Zhuang Zhou’s butterfly paradox?

We constantly gravitate between different states of consciousness, yet these transitions are so fluid that it can become difficult to discern whether we are awake, dreaming, or immersed in a meditative state. At times, we may even inhabit multiple states simultaneously, without the ability to clearly locate or define them.

The music selected for this playlist is eclectic and spans several decades, yet each piece carries a subtle numinous quality. Drones are especially present, as their sustained vibrations can gently guide the listener into a meditative state, thinning the veil between modes of perception. The tracks are arranged in a deliberate sequence, allowing the playlist to function as a single, cohesive entity rather than a collection of individual works.



























THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
X : Us, Misunderstanding the Sublime, 2020 Digital painting on clear acrylic  (70 x 41cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (2,3cm x 33cm x 1.5cm)








THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
I : A Compass Pointing Inward (Journey Into the Irrational), 2020 Digital painting on clear acrylic  (75 x 53cm)
 Inscribed Carrara marble (7,7cm x 28cm x 1.5cm)



THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
IV : A Pond in the Moon Reflecting Ancient Emotions, 2020
Digital painting on clear acrylic  (75 x 53cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (7cm x 32cm x 1.5cm)









THE TRANSLUCENT MIND
IX : Illusory Limits, 2020
Digital painting on clear acrylic  (40 x 70cm)
Inscribed Carrara marble (1,7cm x 21cm x 1.5cm)