Something stirs you awake during the blue hour, and you can’t be sure if you heard a sound or if your mind is projecting. You are alone but you feel a presence other than your own. Is it benevolent? Is it trying to tell you something? Your eyes are heavy and you drift between waking and dreaming. Is your half-awake, half-asleep state dulling or sharpening your senses? Is this hypnagogic state a doorway to a different reality? 

In the latest show from dearantler we wander through the witching hour. Come along as we surrender to the night, open the door to the supernatural, explore the land of dreams, and commune with the impossible. 

the witching hour - three monoprints, three dream poems

Edith’s series of hand-printed block monoprints (a print in which no two prints are alike despite a repeated image) shows a mix of sparse night scenes, each featuring a luminous moon that serves as a witness or a guide. The prints are intentionally dark -- dark blue and black except for the moon. In much the same way as the human eye strains to see at night, the darkness of each print causes the eye to strain to make out the shapes. Each work, printed on rice paper, is paired with a poem or poem excerpt about the night, dreams, and sleep, written by Sylvia Plath, Langston Hughes, and W.B. Yeats.

the witching hour - 16 dreams captured, drawn, and painted on book covers

Jolly’s series of paintings and drawings reveal fantastical scenes of peculiar creatures, flying buildings, glowing lights, and strange phenomena. Painted on the insides of book covers, each piece incorporates the book cover’s pattern, adding depth and texture to already intricate designs. A smudge of red appears on each piece -- is it blood, a reminder of life in an otherwise monochromatic scene? This is a dark, pensive collection of dreams and fantasies set against mysterious backdrops.