Imagine waking up from an extraordinarily vivid dream, feeling startled by the surreal sequences your mind has conjured. What if you could share these nocturnal narratives with others who’ve traversed similar dreamscapes? Enter HalfDream.org, a brainchild of Hong Kong-born artist Doreen Chan Wing-yan, a platform designed to connect people based on their dreams.
The concept of HalfDream.org was born out of Chan’s curiosity about the shared absurdity of our unconscious minds. The platform launched in 2020, encouraging users to recall their dreams and provide detailed descriptions, which could be supplemented by illustrations, photographs, or voice recordings. The goal? To match individuals based on the themes and scenarios unfolding in their dreams.
One of the intriguing aspects of HalfDream.org is its semblance to a dating app, albeit one where matches are made based on subconscious experiences rather than conscious preferences. Users are asked to delve into their dream worlds and share their experiences, which are then processed by an AI program to pair up similar entries. Those who choose to continue the journey receive a set of daily exercises designed to foster mutual understanding with their “Dreamate.”
The project carries an aura of mystery, as all interactions are initially kept anonymous and facilitated through the website. Participants have the final choice of making direct contact with each other to discover if shared dreams could form the foundation for dialogue, or perhaps even friendship.
Chan conceived the idea for HalfDream.org during a turbulent time for her home city, when political differences caused divisions within many Hong Kong families. Feeling helpless while observing the chaotic events from the United States, Chan began to question if individuals on opposite sides of political lines might experience similar dreams after witnessing the same distressing scenes.
With the intent of connecting people beyond their standard identities, Chan first set up HalfDream.org in 2020 during a discreet group exhibition held in Hong Kong. As the impact of the global pandemic unfolded, she realized the need for reconciliation and dialogue was universal, leading her to expand the project internationally.
With support from the Burger Collection, a Hong Kong-based art patron, Chan has assembled a team of nine individuals who are currently working on the project. In a recent commission by Hong Kong non-profit art programme Tai Kwun Contemporary, Chan created “Sipping Dreams,” a unique variation of HalfDream.org that pairs basic descriptions of dreams with cocktail recipes.
Presently, HalfDream.org aims to collect 5,000 dreams and has reached the halfway mark after its launch in the U.S. and France. As part of the exhibition series “signals” at art space Para Site in Hong Kong, visitors can listen to voice recordings of other people’s dreams and view illustrations of some of the most vividly described dreams.
While Chan acknowledges the uncertain potential of art to instigate change, she maintains an unwavering belief in trying. Bringing HalfDream.org to her hometown of Hong Kong, she continues to invite people to share their dreams and connect through this unusual, yet fascinating, platform.
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