Dream of a woman and a child, and an anaconda lying comfortably on my bed. Told at Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich, 2nd July 2023.

I am a guest at a house with a group of people. In the dream they are my friends, but at the same time I don't know any of them. There is also a woman and a child. The child is about three years old, the woman might be her mother. The friends pack and they leave, but I have forgotten to pack. I am with the woman and young girl in the bedroom, playing with the young girl. Suddenly, a very large anaconda comes through the brightly lit door into the bedroom. It is striped with brown and green and beige. It moves to the bed, where it then lies comfortably, in a spiral. At first, I was surprised, then fearful, thinking it might attack the child, and finally I am calm.

Julia highlighted the words 'postponement', in reference to the delay in leaving; 'female the child was very young child I know will be attacked', in reference to the first fears, 'powerful', referring to the anaconda; and 'You were born Latin', and 'in Latin my own course', referring to the dreamer saying during the discussion that she was from Latin America and had recently moved to Europe. 

We were very honoured to hold this Dream Salon at Cabaret Voltaire, which was the birthplace of Dadaism in 1916. In that year artists, poets and other literary creatives came to Zurich and to the Cabaret Voltaire to escape from the war. Dadaism then spread to other countries, and led to Surrealism, with the first Manifesto of Surrealism being written in 1924. Our Dream Salon took place in the historical hall of Cabaret Voltaire, where performances such as of Hugo Ball had taken place in 1916, details are here. Photo below is of Julia describing the finished painting and the painting process to the audience.