Dreams of Mice

Abstract

Dreams of Mice explores a changed understanding of sleep brought about by networked technologies. A contemporary world of instant messaging and 24/7 connectivity encourages us to remain permanently available. Using computer modeling, recorded neurological data and game engine technology, boredomresearch http://www.boredomresearch.net ask if we can afford to disconnect; questioning the importance of the non-productive third of our lives we spend asleep. Brain activity during sleep reveals that far from downtime, sleep is complex and beautiful. Developed from research exploring the interaction between environmental factors effecting sleep and human neurological disorders Dreams of Mice considers the increased control, management and disruption of sleep behaviours. Collaborating with a neuroscientist at the University of Oxford, capturing and recording the dreams of laboratory mice, boredomresearch have revealed the intriguing beauty of slumber in a real-time artwork driven by the firing neurons of dreaming mice (see Fig.1). When we go to sleep we disconnect from our social networks and perpetual status updates, entering the last remaining sanctuary from the demands of a permanently connected and networked society. But is the space of dreams at risk from the relentless encroachment of connective technologies?