Oscar Oiwa: Dreams of a Sleeping World

USC Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA
January 10–April 26, 2020

Video directed, shot, and edited by: Alvaro Parra
Produced by: Nathalia Morales-Evanks
Music by: Erick Del Aguila

The immersive art of Oscar Oiwa: Dreams of a Sleeping World asks visitors a poignant question indicative of this historical moment: What do we do when we are paralyzed by the chaos of our times? Oiwa is concerned that when the noise of our everyday world impedes our radiant minds, we shut down. In this gravitational pull of “sleep” we look to our dreams to reset, searching our subconscious for nourishment and hoping for wisdom to better face the dysfunction of our world. To that end, Oiwa invites visitors to enter his 360° dreamscape to transform the clenched fist of our hearts into open hands.

This site-specific artwork and exhibition features an installation of an immersive space, an inflatable dome/800 sq. ft 3-dimensional mural hand-drawn and painted by the artist and four assistants over two weeks. Four surrealist large-scale paintings for which Oiwa is renown, hung in the fore-gallery before entering the dome.