Ghost of a Dream: Aligned by the Sun (through the revolution)

Ghost of a Dream: Aligned by the Sun (through the revolution) will be available as a visual-only installation (sound will be off) between February 10 and 12, 2023 for a temporary sound installation, Man and Beast and the Creeping Thing by composer Lee Weisert. We apologize for the inconvenience.

In a time of travel bans, immigration debates, climate change, and a global pandemic, the artist team Ghost of a Dream has created their multi-faceted project Aligned by the Sun in an effort to bring hope to our collective experience and unify our fractured planet. To assemble the footage necessary for this endeavor, Ghost of a Dream has collaborated with artists in over 220 nations by asking them to capture a short video of the sunset. All but seven of the 195 countries recognized by the United Nations, as well as many non-UN nations and territories, are represented by these videos. These videos provide the source material for many iterations of the project, including large installations, video collages, and still-image composites.

Aligned by the Sun (through the revolution) is a seven-channel video installation created specifically for the Ackland Art Museum that uses the formal positioning of the horizon line to connect each video of the sun. By overlaying images of a setting sun that align vastly different and often non-neighboring locations, Ghost of a Dream’s Aligned by the Sun (through the revolution) offers entry points to important conversations around equality, location, migration, and the environment.

This collaborative artwork is ongoing. Artists with home geographies as yet unrepresented in Aligned by the Sun are invited to submit their own videos to Ghost of a Dream. These will be incorporated into the project on a rolling basis, with the expectation that the project will never really be complete. As Ghost of a Dream writes, “the ‘un-finishability’ of Aligned by the Sun reflects the arbitrary and incomplete nature of borders. Across history, humans have drawn and redrawn lines on this earth. As borders have shifted, one truth has remained constant: we inhabit a single planet that is sustained by the light and warmth of the sun. Aligned by the Sun invites viewers to imagine a future charted by this fact.”

EXHIBITION-RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Ackland Film Forum: Short Films by Ghost of a Dream
Tuesday, February 7, 2023 | 7:30 p.m. Varsity Theatre. Free.

Artist Conversation: Ghost of a Dream
Friday, April 8, 2022 | 2:30 p.m. | Virtual
Part of Arts Everywhere Day

Ghost of a Dream is the collaborative project of New York-based artists Lauren Was (she/her) and Adam Eckstrom (he/him). This installation and related programming have been made possible by the generous support of Dorothy L. Heninger.

Here is a complete list of artists and collaborators who contributed to Aligned by the Sun (through the revolution). Those creators and their locations are listed below based on their order of appearance on the seven television screens, as seen from left to right.

First Screen

Iroquois: G. Peter Jemison
Nigeria: Modupeola Fadugba
Bulgaria: Maria Nalbantova
Burkina Faso: Motandi Ouoba, Operndorf Afrika
Paraguay: Claudia Casarino
Belgium: Alexanda Mien
Somaliland: Mustafa Saeed
Indonesia: Kristen Dietrich
South Sudan: Deng Majid Chol
Micronesia: Emelihter Kihleng
Liechtenstein: Hanna Roeckle
Northern Ireland: Leeann Toland
Vatican City (Holy See): Gabriella Clare Marino
Kyrgyzstan: Kuba Myrzabekov
Mali: Moussa Traore
Wales: Olwen Mosely
Thailand: Alexa Pham
Albania: Driant Zeneli
Philippines: Lee Paje
Austria: Nicola Ginzel
Cambodia: Tith Kanitha
Tibet: Tashi Norbu
Bahamas: Antonius Roberts
Sao Tome and Principe: Kwame Souza
Oman: Hassan Meer
Portugal: Joana Vasconcelos
Libya: Shefa Salem

Second Screen

Romania: Alina-Ondine Slimovschi
Saint Kitts and Nevis: Rosey Cameron Smith
Germany: Gereon Lepper
Jordan: Ala Younis
Zambia: Zenzele Chulu
Gullah: Michael Smalls
Lebanon: Jana Khoury
Brazil: Assume Vivid Astro Focus
Argentina: Melina Berkenwald
Nepal: Bikash Shrestha
Luxembourg: Feipel & Jean Bechameil
Belarus: Alexandra Karnazhytskaya
Tajikistan: Murod Sharifov
Serbia: Lidija Delic
Japan: Tadashi Koizumi
Jamaica: Camille Chedda
Togo: Talle Bamazi
Suriname: Remy Jungerman
Bhutan: Zimbiri
Chile: Maria Burr
Republic of the Congo: Paul Alden
Eswatini: Dane Armstrong
Gabon: Owanto
Egypt: Sarah Maher

Third Screen

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Nadia Huggins
Croatia: Slaven Tolj
Palau: Jun Hirata
Sri Lanka: Rupaneethan Pakkiyarajah
Uruguay: Marco Maggi
Chad: Salma Khalil
Monaco: Audrey Jimenez
Andorra: Samantha Bosque
Barbados: Katherine Kennedy
Mozambique: Mário Macilau
Venezuela: Angela Bonadies
Hungary: Agnes Eva Molnar
Eritrea: Dawit L. Petros
Sweden: Michael Johansson
Botswana: Hannu Sorto
Greece: Eozan Agopian
Kuwait: Aseel AlYaqoub
Trinidad and Tobago: Caroline Mair
Myanmar: Zoncy Heavenly
Vietnam: Phạm Nguyễn Anh Tú
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Nelson Makengo
Cuba: Niels Reyes
Madagascar: Judith Olivia Manantenasoa
Finland: Olli Piippo
China: Liu Bolin
Crimea: Masha Gvozdov
Cabo Verde: Hélder Paz Monteiro
Iceland: Olafur Eliasson

Fourth Screen

New Zealand: Victor Webster
Dominican Republic: Eliazar Ortiz
Rwanda: Serrah Galos
Moldova: Ghenadie Popescu
Zimbabwe: Neville Starling
Lithuania: Anastasia Sosunova
Montenegro: Jelena Tomasevic
Algeria: Massinissa Selmani
San Marino: Valerio Conti
Palestine: Shuruq Harb
India: Lakshmi Nivas
Aboriginal Bundjalung: Amrita Hepi
Georgia: Gvantsa Jishkariani
Norway: Stian Adlandsvik
Morocco: Ramia Beladel
Taiwan: Yo-Yo Lin
Uganda: Twino Mujunivan
Ukraine: Olena Klochko
Unangan: Kanesia McGlashen-Price
Benin: Jean-François AMOU Aka Takoumi
Sierra Leone: Hawa Bangura
Lesotho: Limpho Thoahlane
United Arab Emirates: Hassana Arif
Azerbaijan: HYPNOTICA
Samoa: Frank Wolf
Ireland: Michelle Rogers
Costa Rica: Andres Carranza
Turkey: Hacer Kiroğlu
Grenada: Oliver Benoit

Fifth Screen

Israel: Gil Yefman
Azores: João Amado
Mauritius: Krishna Luchoomun
Antigua and Barbuda: Gilly Gobinet
Bermuda: James Cooper
Burundi: Jimmy Nzi
Bangladesh: Sadya Mizan
Saint Lucia: Llewellyn Xavier
Dominica: Rakeem Lecointe
Angola: Brecht Kanjanja
Peru: Ximena Garrido-Lecca
Djibouti: Camille Massida
Somalia: Fardosa Hussein
Seychelles: George Camille
Cayman Islands: David Bridgeman
Tunisia: Marwa Manai
South Pole: Josiah Horneman
Wixárica: Mariza Ryce Aparicio-Tovar
Estonia: Helena Keskküla
Saudi Arabia: Ahmed Mater
Czechia: Tomáš Rauchfuss, RAFA, Tomujel
Navajo: Rapheal Rapheal Begay
Nicaragua: Milena Garcia
Syria: Mohammad Zaza
Uzbekistan: Saodat Ismailova
United Kingdom: John Plowman
Maori: Mokonui-a-rangi Smith
Six Nations: Daniel James Hill
Slovenia: Saso Sedlacek
Namibia: Fillipus
Apache: Lynnette Haozous
Qatar: Ameena Al-boinin
Ethiopia: Naod Lemma
Tanzania: Jesse Gerrard
Armenia: Grigor Muradyan, ARTLAYEREVAN Creative Group
Greenland: Inuuteq Storch
Lower Cayuga Nation, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory: Alex Jacobs Blum
Niqnalchint Nation: Argent Kvasnikoff
United States of America: Ghost of a Dream

Sixth Screen

Senegal: Selly Raby Kane
Liberia: Lina Iris Viktor
Italy: Giada Crispiels
Tonga: Kalisolaite ‘Uhila
Cameroon: Roméo Temwa
Malaysia: Yee I-Lann
North Korea: Sun Mu
Martinique: David Gumbs
Comoros: Ishbina Issimaila
Gambia: Oummu Leisa Jallow
Denmark: Ditte Ejlerskov
Brunei: Ira Ali
Australia: Kirsha Kaechele
Honduras: Léster Rodríguez
South Africa: Jozua Gerrard
Solomon Islands: Jackson Diosi
Latvia: Kristine Krauze Slucka
Equatorial Guinea: Berry Oná
Pine Ridge Reservation: Dustin Twiss
Poland: Berenika Kowalska
Bolivia: Ivan Caceres
Cyprus: Klitsa Antoniou
Belize: Briheda Haylock
Guinea Bissau: Mila Silva
Guyana: Kwesi Abbensetts and Imran Khan
Canada: Patrick Bernatchez
Mauritania: Amy Sow
Malta: Vince Briffa
Bahrain: Rashid Al Khalifa
South Korea: Suyon Huh
Pakistan: Mohsin Shafi
Ecuador: Teo Monsalve
Iraq: Walid Siti
Colombia: Carlos Alfonso
Switzerland: Basim Magdy
Sudan: Assil Diab
Kenya: Agnes Waruguru
Anishinaabe: Hillary Kempenich

Seventh Screen

Guatemala: Jose Lucero
Nauru: Timex Dabwido
North Macedonia: Saso Stanojkovik
Scotland: Katie Paterson
Timor Leste: Lucas Sarmento
El Salvador: Simon Vega
Turkmenistan: Olga Sophiyeva
Fiji: Anne Saphore
Laos: Tcheu Siong
Netherlands: Sanne Vassen
Iran: Shahrzad Darafsheh
Uyghur: Mukaddas Mijit
Mongolia: Jantsankhorol Erdenebayar
Papua New Guinea: Eunice Kehana, Indigenous Health Solutions
Malawi: Nikiwe Mtema
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Mladen Mijanovic
Kazakhstan: Suinbike Suleimenova
Panama: Tomás Cortés
Lakota: Jonny Cournoyer
Haiti: Edouard Duval
France: Christine Laquet
Central African Republic: Hervé Ndoma
Slovakia: Stefan Papco and Lucia Stranaiova
Yemen: Afraa Ahmed
Russia: Victoria Lomasko
Singapore: Lai Yu Tong
Afghanistan: Aziz Hazara
Ghana: Nana Frimpong
Mexico: Pedro Reyes
Spain: Helí García
Kosovo: Alban Muja
Cote d’Ivoire: Jacky Loho, J.L. Photography

Ghost of a Dream feels incredible gratitude towards the above artists for going out of their way to document the sun for this project, as well as the support of NGO Little Sun. A number of people also deserve thanks for supporting, guiding, and connecting Ghost of a Dream to these incredible artists around the globe; they include:

Alun Williams (Triangle Arts Association)
Fedja Klikovac (Handel Street Projects)
Olafur Eliasson (Little Sun)
Alex McClure (Little Sun)
Clay Tarica (Little Sun)
Bri Wu (Little Sun)
Romain Degoul (Galerie Paris Beijing)
Maureen Sullivan (Red Art Projects)
Bird Runningwater (Sundance Institute)
Corina Apostol (Tallinn Art Hall)
Shervone Neckles-Ortiz (Joan Mitchell Foundation)
Lisa Tung (MAAM Museum)
Amanda Coulson (National Art Gallery of the Bahamas)
Natasha Logan (CREATIVE TIME)
Naz CUGUOĞLU (Blum and Poe)
Erin Gleeson (Independent Curator)
Sable Samuel (The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative)
Daniel Schwartz (Dynamica)
Rakeb Sile (Addis Fine Art)
Kathleen Gilrain (Smack Mellon)
Gabriel de Guzman (Wave Hill)
Elizabeth Ferrer (BRIC)
Michael Johansson (Artist)
Brigitta Varadi (Artist)
Lisa Howie (Little Black Pony Gallery)
Azra Tuzunoglu (PILOT Gallery)
Gantuya Badamgarav (Art Space 976)
Caroline Alvarez Mathies (Dallas Contemporary)
Tara Foley (Artist)
Sheetal Prajapati (Lohar Projects)
Duke Riley (Artist)
Esperanza Mayobre (Artist)
Ranto Miarivolona (Hakanto Contemporary)
Teesa Bahana (Ugandan Artist Trust)
Zsuzsanna Szegedy-Maszak (Hungarian National Museum)
Sakhile Matlhare and Daniel Hagemeier (Sakhile&Me)
Matthew McCardwell (Perrotin)
Luba Michailova and Mykhailo Glubokyi (IZOLYATSIA foundation)
Aleta Armstrong (Yebo Art Gallery)
Tiffany Smith (Artist)
Cacau Cultural Center
Johannah Herr (Artist)
Andrew Thomas (Michael Lett Gallery)
Michael Scoggins (Artist)
Danda Jaroljmek (Circle Art Agency)
Lisa Kim (Ford Foundation)
And many more that we may have failed to mention… Thank you!

Image Credit: Ghost of a Dream, American, active since 2008, Aligned by the Sun (through the revolution) [detail], 2021, seven-channel video installation. Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. © Ghost of a Dream.