Emily DiCarlo
we imitate sleep to dream of dissent

Amidst the pressures of productivity culture, simple gestures such as daydreaming, wandering, and napping become disruptive forms of resistance. When done collectively, these “imitations of sleep” act as catalysts for imagining new models of relationality, disrupting the constraints of late capitalism.

In 2021, Toronto-based artist Emily DiCarlo launched a durational performance piece in collaboration with nine “dream-participants,” Jacqui Arntfield, Ellen Bleiwas, Simon Fuh, chris mendoza, Dana Prieto, Matt Nish-Lapidus, Mehrnaz Rohbakhsh, and duo St Marie Walker (Denise St Marie and Timothy Walker). The performance started with a symbolic protest in Queen’s Park, Toronto, the site of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Known for its political significance, the park was occupied by the group of artists to engage in an act of (un)rest. Over the following months, they participated in a series of five performances led by Fluxus-inspired prompts formulated by DiCarlo. The prompts encouraged them to refuse, rest, wander, attend, and extend to the more-than-human.