A great number of people are sleep-deprived zombies. This catchall category reportedly includes insomnia, jetlag, sleepwalking, bed-wetting, night terrors, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy and disordered breathing during sleep, to name a few; and many use some form of sleeping pill or aid at night. Yet, more sleep is no guarantee for overall health, and more sleeping pills might not bring either better sleep or better health.

This project arose from my interest in exploring contemporary notions of a better life, but also from my relentless search for ways of getting to sleep and staying asleep without falling prey to the drug industry. I collect vernacular wisdom on the subject, and with this exercise in mind I asked my 6-unit condominium neighbors to participate in the project by contributing their recommendations. The “Insomnia Cure Kit” contains 12 calming tips to relieve insomnia contributed by Gary, Stacia, Chris, Joanna, Skip, Niki, Erica, Alvin, Lakyia, Lamyia, Viola, and myself.

I used the building in which I live - a location in which a given community sleeps within shared geographical boundaries (the confines of a 6-unit condominium in Chicago) to investigate the problem of insomnia. This circumscription provides an opportunity to sample and inspect a contemporary “malaise” arguably induced by contemporary life-styles.

Pat Badani

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Artists include: Pat Badani, Jordan Biren, Stephanie Brooks, Kristin Calabrese, Dana Duff, Pamela Fraser, Matthew Girson, Michelle Grabner, Terence Hannum, Candice Lin, David Oresick, Mary Anna Pomonis, Alison Ruttan, Scott Stack, Goody B. Wiseman With special video program curated by liveBox (Catherine Forster).

“Because the night” is an exhibition of artworks across the disciplines that explores the poetics of the night and the mysterious things that happen under the cloak of darkness: magic, dreams, sex, romance, war, murder, ritual, flight and fantasies, and more. Liberating us from convention, the night enables us to explore taboo behavior, act on hidden impulses, and acts as a fertile ground for fantasy, inspiration and mayhem. Under the secrecy of stars, in the artificial glow of a city streetlight, in the inky still blackness of a country road, the night holds sway over our collective imagination and our creative impulses, inviting us to ponder what lurks in the shadows and what resides in our dreams. The exhibition is as much about memory as about fantasy- as Borges says, the night suppresses details and allows us to remember only what stands in vivid contrast to the darkness.