SLUMBERLAND Program

Slumberland 

Imagine a place, out beyond the cosmos, where the world’s restless souls all gather before sleeping. A place where you can turn down the noise of our digital lives and dial into just one human frequency at a time to experience new, deep connection. Can such a place exist? And are we even allowed to slow down so much as to reclaim our own attention in today’s clickbait economy? Slumberland invites you to take that risk…

Created from ongoing interviews about insomnia with young adults around the world, Slumberland blends audio documentary, game design and immersive theater in an effort to more fully inhabit the suspended state that is sleeplessness. Combining live motion-capture and VR technologies, Slumberland is performed remotely (from anywhere) and streamed through the audience’s headsets (to anywhere).

Duration: 35 min VR experience. Approx. 60 min including VR onboarding and offboarding
 

Creators’ Note / Artists’ Note

We read an article in a Swedish newspaper about a social worker and former gang member working in one of the Stockholm suburbs grappling with social exclusion. He talked about severe insomnia among the young criminals that he was in contact with. These young people write to him in the middle of the night, often between 3 and 5 am. They write asking the same thing: “why can’t I sleep?“

We live in an attention economy: the way we structure life and work today keeps us from sleeping. Up to 30% of people in developed countries now suffer from chronic insomnia. We are too tired to do something about a system that is profiting from our every glance or sliding finger on a screen. The young criminals texting a social worker when they should be sleeping are formulating the question of our time. Slumberland is our way to try to get some rest, together with you. Because isn’t rest the most radical thing? Not simply to rest alone, but to collectively shut our eyes for a moment. Slumberland has been in our hearts for a long time. We are so happy to share it with you. Welcome, and goodnight.

- Emma, Stefan & Robin

CREDITS

With Support From

The Region of Skåne, The City of Malmö, The Swedish Arts Council, The Swedish Arts Grants Commitee