Psychomare: A Psychoanalytic and XR-Based Artistic Exploration into Nightmare Visualization

Keywords

Nightmares, XR Performance, Psychoanalytic Art Practice, Dream Visualization, Collective Emotion.

Abstract

Psychomare is an artistic research project that explores the visualization of nightmares through a psychoanalytic and XR-based performance methodology. By treating dreams as symbolic data and nightmares as distortions of subjective recognition, the project translates psychological fear into tangible visual forms. Utilizing AI-driven imagery, embodied dance performance, and virtual production technologies, Psychomare creates an immersive dreamscape where the dancer confronts surreal nightmare entities derived from personal and collective dream memories. Drawing on Lacanian theory, the work proposes that nightmares emerge from a misrecognition of the self—a mirrored distortion of unconscious desires and fears projected onto dream imagery. This symbolic misrecognition becomes the conceptual core of the project, guiding its aesthetic and choreographic strategies. Feedback from the dancer, audience, and a psychoanalyst reveals strong emotional resonance and aesthetic depth, suggesting that the visualization of nightmares can foster self-reflection, emotional confrontation, and collective empathy. This project offers a new model for integrating immersive art, psychoanalytic theory, and technological mediation as a path of collective care.