Dream Inventory January 1997

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall

Jane Gifford began recording her dreams in a written form on a daily basis in 1994. This painting provides a visual record of her dreams over the course of one month. As might be appropriate for something as personal as a dream, we have to get close to the painting to be able to see the individual elements. Each small picture represents a significant motif from a dream. They are set out in a grid in chronological order, each painted in blue unless the artist remembered them as another colour. Gifford is interested in the creative richness and unpredictability of dreams, those which are mundane as well as those more personally significant.

Jane Gifford studied at Newcastle University, the Brooklyn Museum Art School in New York and Central St Martins’ College in London. For the past 12 years she has made drawings, paintings and installations based upon her dreams. She has had several solo exhibitions in London, Manchester, and New York, and has participated in numerous group shows. Her many commissions have included paintings for television and film and for public buildings including St Mary’s Hospital in London.

Places

Subjects

carriage, bicycle, tyre, car, taxi, train, guitar, camera, paintbrush, vase (as Subject), newspaper, pen, cigarette, ball, rabbit, caterpillar, cloud, fire, mountain, rock formation, beach, arm, finger, eye, foot, dream, lamp, washing machine, angel, mermaid, signage, house, skyscraper, shed, pyramid, tent/marquee, archway, steps, scaffolding, staircase, bench, cabinet, bed, chair, table (as Subject)

Materials & Techniques

acrylic (paint), canvas, oil, oil painting

Artist

Jane Gifford (1955 - )

Title

Dream Inventory January 1997

Date

1997

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

height: 111.50 cm, width: 111.50 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Beaux Arts Gallery, March 2000

Provenance

Beaux Arts Gallery, London

GAC number

17459