Dreaming the End is the first solo exhibition in Italy by Sin Wai Kin (Toronto, Canada, 1991). Central to the project is the new video work from which the exhibition takes its name, Dreaming the End, filmed entirely in Rome. Constantly poised between reality and the dream dimension, Sin Wai Kin’s poetic approach crosses through categories and media: video, performance and installations are the languages used to give life to works that blend pop references and personal experiences, allowing an indefinable feeling to emerge, suspended between tenderness and melancholy, irony and drama, familiarity and alienation.
The centrepiece of the exhibition is the video Dreaming the End (2023): a story that plays with times, references, space and places; making everything at once familiar and uncanny. Obsessions and contradictions are at the heart of the film, a journey midway between dreams and visions by a series of enigmatic characters interacting in different scenarios. References to different cinematic genres such as thriller, noir and fantasy, with forays into fashion and other areas of popular culture, contributes to the sense of disorientation conveyed by Dreaming the End, which continually questions and overturns the spectator’s assumptions and reference points.
It is through this story - a pastiche of genres, styles, space and time, that the film asks: where does authenticity end and performance begins? Who decides this? For Sin Wai Kin, change is key to adopting a non-binary consciousness that dissolves the rigidity of certain patterns and allows our experiences to help us evolve. The strong psychological connotation of the characters is underpinned by the locations that provide the backdrop for Dreaming the End. Entirely shot in Rome, the film is foregrounded by the grandeur of its settings, such as the gardens of Villa Medici, the interior of Palazzo Ruspoli and the spaces of Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. These iconic sites amplify the sense of wonder intrinsic to Sin Wai Kin’s work, creating an unprecedented bridge between Rome’s rich history and the artist’s gaze. Together, they present an ever-changing landscape, constantly transforming and uniting past histories with potential futures, crossing different states and phases.
In addition to the film, wigs and make-up wipes utilised during the realisation are installed in the space of the Fondazione Memmo: these works tell of the changing identity of the characters, witness to a never-ending process
