Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller: The Instrument of Troubled Dreams

About this artwork

Born in small rural towns in Canada, Janet Cardiff (b. 1957) and George Bures Miller (b. 1960) have collaborated for more than 35 years. Working with sound and new media technologies—including film, robotics and advanced audio-recording techniques—they create immersive, interactive installations that explore memory, narrative, space and time. Their video installation The Berlin Files (2003) was featured in the Museum’s 2006 exhibition Constructing New Berlin, the first major survey of contemporary art produced in post-Wall Berlin. The Instrument of Troubled Dreams by Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller marks the second presentation of their work at Phoenix Art Museum, and the Arizona premiere of The Instrument of Troubled Dreams. The Instrument of Troubled Dreams is an interactive audio installation in which Museum visitors are invited to sit at a replica of a 1960s Mellotron and play the keyboard. While the original Mellotron was used to compose music using prerecorded tape banks, this instrument has been transformed into a storytelling device. Each of the 72 keys has been programmed to play back a different sound effect, vocal track, or musical part so participants can compose their own film-like soundtrack. These sounds and narratives are played back in full spherical surround sound over 23 speakers encircling the listener/performer in a dystopian story of their own making.