The Omnipotence of Dream

The Omnipotence of Dream
Curated by Paula Chambers, David Hancock, Angela Tait & Dawn Woolley

Marion Adnams, Eileen Agar, Iain Andrews, Sally Barker, Jo Berry, Xanthe Burdett, Paula Chambers, Sarah Eyre, Ann Fordham, Elizabeth Frink, Carole Griffiths, David Hancock, Jeffrey Knopf, Alana Lake, David Leapman, Allan Milner, James Moore, Sean Powers, Olha Pryymak, Bethany Stead, Angela Tait, John Tunnard, Dawn Woolley
+ AI Baby (Jo Manby & Xhi Ndubisi)
+ BA (Hons) Fine Art students from University of Salford & Leeds Arts University
Exhibition Dates: 19 October 2024 – 23 February 2025
Private View: Thursday 17th October 2024, 5-8pm
2024 marks the centenary since Andre Breton wrote his Manifesto of Surrealism that has proved inspirational to numerous artists since. The influence of Surrealism has opened up the exploration of Intersectionality despite the problematic views and philosophies of Breton. At its outset, female surrealists such as Leonora Carrington, Frida Kahlo, Remedios Varo, Meret Oppenheim, and Leonor Fini made significant contributions to the movement, using their investigations into dream to explore their identity, sexuality, and psychology. Cecila Alemani’s curation of the 59th Venice Biennale, The Milk of Dreams, focusing on the contribution of these women artists highlighted Surrealism’s continued ability to both inspire and present a safe space -- a marvellous realm on the cusp of dream and reality; a playground for artists.
The collection at Salford Museum & Art Gallery contains a wealth of Surrealist treasures including Marion Adnams, Eileen Agar, John Banting, John Tunnard, William Cosnahan, Ann Fordham, Allan Milner and Elizabeth Frink. These British Surrealists followed the movement’s concepts incorporating these themes into their own visual language. The Omnipotence of Dream at Salford Museum Art Gallery sees each of the 15 contemporary artists select a work from the collect to produce a direct response, with David Hancock responding to all six works to create a solo presentation within the gallery. A section of the gallery is devoted to Fine Art students from University of Salford and Leeds Arts University who have also created individual responses to the six works.
The Omnipotence of Dream proposes a new Surrealist manifesto that shifts from the historic binary gender distinctions and hierarchies of 20th century Surrealism opening up a greater inclusivity. It claims the subconscious arena of the Marvellous as a space in which gender can reside outside the binding confines of contemporary capitalist ideologies and binaries. A century after Breton published his Manifesto of Surrealism, new technologies allow us to experience alternative realms of the imagination. Cyberspace provides us with opportunities to explore new worlds and experiment with our physical bodies. However, the internet is divisive. It is not a safe space for the marginalised (apart from some small corners carved out and guarded by the communities themselves). Homophobia, transphobia, racism, and misogyny are rife. The Marvellous is anti-capitalistic by its very nature. The irrational and illogical are features of this disorientating realm of the unconscious, which shifts our perceptions of the conscious world. The Omnipotence of Dream explores how Breton’s vision remains a possibility.
The Omnipotence of Dream re-examines Surrealism’s problematic past and reframes those methods within current debates around queer, trans and feminist theory. It highlights the vision of autocratic Surrealist founder, André Breton, but also readdresses the limitations that he established through a lack of inclusivity.

Marion Adnams
Variation on Red
Oil on Plywood
54.5 x 42cm
1949

Eileen Agar
Room with a View of the Moon
Acrylic on Canvas
80 x 101cm
1981

Ann Fordham
Abstraction
Oil on Cardboard
35 x 59.5cm
1956

Elizabeth Frink
Harbinger Bird
Bronze
45cm
1961

Allan Milner
Abstraction
Oil on Board,
37 x 54cm
1956

John Tunnard
Pas de Deux
Gouche on Cardboard
35.5 x 54cm
1951

David Hancock

To Distant Lands (After Ann Fordham)
Watercolour on Gesso Panel
50 x 70cm
2024

A Room with a View of the Moon (After Eileen Agar)
Watercolour on Gesso Panel
50 x 70cm
2024

Harbinger (After Elizabeth Frink)
Watercolour on Gesso Panel with Airfix Models & Balsa Wood
50 x 40 x 10cm
2024

Variation on Pink (After Marion Adnams)
Watercolour on Gesso Panel
40 x 30cm
2024

Variation on Red (After Marion Adnams)
Watercolour on Gesso Panel
40 x 30cm
2024

Iain Andrews

Abstraction (after Allan Milner)
Oil & Acrylic on Board,
37 x 54cm
2024

Sally Barker

Mens business suit fabric, glazed ceramic, armature wire, stuffing, lipstick, mascara, eye shadow, mod-roc
110 x 110 x 30 cm
2024

Jo Berry

The Temple Collapses
Oil on Canvas
90 x 120cm
2024

Xanthe Burdett

Untitled
Oil on Board
40 x 30cm
2024

Paula Chambers
Sarah Eyre

Moving image
2024

Still from moving image
2024

Carole Griffiths

Mother-Fork
Bronze
35 x 15 x 9cm
2024                           

Strainer Woman-Chair
Bronze
25 x 8 x 6cm
2024

Bred-Bed
Bronze
13 x 10 x 8cm
2024

Prop-Pit
Bronze
18 x 15 x 10cm
2024

Jeffrey Knopf

After Allan Milner
3D Printed Plastic
2024

After Ann Fordham
3D Printed Plastic
2024

Alana Lake

Glass, Wood & Ceramic
Matches: 72 x 4 x 11cm, 85 x 6 x 11cm, 101 x 10 x 11cm
2024

David Leapman

Thinness Chaser
Acrylic on Canvas
84 x 109cm
2005

Blood to Blush
Acrylic on Canvas
36 x 31cm
2023

Returning Slowly
Dayglo & Acryic on Canvas
36 x 31cm
2023

James Moore


Oil on Canvas
68 x 120cm
2024

Sean Powers

A Familiar Tune
Acrylic, oil and pumice on canvas
150 x 123cm
2024

Olha Pryymak

The Necessary Wonder
oil on linen
140 x 109 x 3.5cm
2023

Bethany Stead

Variation on Extraction
acrylic wash, watercolour and coloured pencil on handmade Lokta paper
79 x 53cm
2024 

Angela Tait

For Eileen
Porclain & Mixed Media
401 Shabtis, 7 x 2 x 1cm
2024

For Eileen
Porclain & Mixed Media
401 Shabtis, 7 x 2 x 1cm
2024

Dawn Woolley

Memorial (heart)
MDF mounted print propped on two deflating balloons
100cm x 100cm

University of Salford

Charlie Currid
After John Tunnard
Oil on Canvas
75 x 50cm
2024

Lauren Swiffin
After Marion Adnams
Acrylic on Canvas
78 x 43cm
2024

Mia Buxton
After Elizabeth Frink
Acrylic & Oil on Door mat on Cradles frame
50 x 75cm
2024

Lauren Matley
Meet The Girls
Sublimation print on velvet with beads & embroidery
3 x 60 x 40cm
2024 

India Buxton
Harbinger
Oil on Board
70 x 50cm
2024

Harry Mfum
A Time to be Born and a Time to Die
Acrylic on Canvas
100 x 100cm
2024

Isobel Saville
After Eileen Agar
Acrylic on Canvas
36 x 42cm
2024

Grace Mason-Holmes
Wooden Variations
Painted Wood
20 x 20 x 4cm
2024

Amber Masters
After Elizabeth Frink #1
Air-Drying Clay & Wool
20 x 20 x 20cm
2024

Amber Masters
After Elizabeth Frink #2
Air-Drying Clay & Wool
10 x 30 x 15cm
2024

Amber Masters
After Elizabeth Frink #3
Air-Drying Clay & Wool
25 x 30 x 10cm
2024

Amber Masters
After Elizabeth Frink #4
Air-Drying Clay & Wool
15 x 30 x 15cm
2024