Thais Zumel
This project is inspired by those worlds that transport us elsewhere, spaces where there are no rules and imagination becomes the protagonist of our stories. It is a tribute to emotion, intensity, and the act of creating without constraints, where playfulness becomes the gateway to everything we imagine.
What do dreams mean to you?
They are worlds that transport you, spaces where there are no rules and anything can happen, where intense and sometimes chaotic situations unfold. I was especially interested in emphasizing imagination: the contrast between what actually happens, the image of a body lying down asleep as seen from the outside, and the virtual simulation that awaits us every night, where our mind generates scenarios freely, without us being able to control everything all the time.
At the same time, there is something about dreams that brings me peace. I like understanding that what I experience in a dream is not what happens in reality, and I enjoy finding a balance between the real world and the madness of dreams. I think that dreaming also helps calm my anxieties.
I really value freedom, creating without restraints. That was what I enjoyed most about this project: having the freedom to create and enter the territory of dreams, where everything is possible. I liked being able to play with color, to invert it, without having to control every detail.
I felt that if I wasn’t playing, I would get bored. In a moment where we tend to want to control everything, allowing myself to expand and work on a project that felt playful and engaging was the most rewarding part. Taking inspiration from Grete Stern’s photomontages and giving them color and form led me into a search for where colors and elements could go.
Definitely. Having Grete Stern as a reference was a huge driving force. Something that really matters to me in my photography is being able to create a story, images that transport the viewer elsewhere. My idea of photomontage was to build through color and saturation, to feel the dream as an explosion in which it’s impossible to discern what the human eye can fully grasp.
What remains from a dream? The feeling, even if the images are blurred. I was interested in searching for that sensation one has upon waking from a dream.
Where do you see the boundary between what we dream and what we record?
I tend to have quite intense and unusual dreams; it’s something I think about often. Still, I approached this project as if it were a story. I didn’t base it on my own dreams or on someone else’s, I wanted to create a feeling. I wanted it to be entertaining, like reading a story that draws you in.
I do believe that each character in the narrative has their own dream. I liked showing that as well: that each person has a different story to tell, and that different things happen within each of them.
If you were to create photomontages based on your own dreams, do you think they would have the same colors, or would they be different? How do you imagine them?
If I were to make this project today, I would do it using real stories. I dream very vividly, and I feel that color is a fundamental part of my photographic identity. The act of inverting colors and generating new ways of looking at an image feels incredibly powerful to me, it opens the door to surprise.
I’m also inspired by the idea that each person has a specific way of seeing the world. Being able to document my own gaze, to observe small details, and to recognize the things I don’t want to forget is very important to me. Light also inspires me, understanding where it comes from, how it creates impact, and how it can communicate from different places.
Finally, I’m inspired by playing with the boundary between what is careful and considered, and the freedom to play and slightly break the limits of photography.
I think of revolution, of free play, of a space where everyone can express themselves however they want.
Creating spaces to exhibit what unites us
Current exhibit.
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