Something from Sleep IV (Dream)

Something from Sleep IV (Dream) is an iconic and symbolic self-portrait by American artist David Wojnarowicz. Inspired by a dream in which Wojnarowicz saw himself in a form that was both “ancient and alien,” the artist’s depiction of himself as a dinosaur is a memorable analysis of his own imminent extinction, and the feelings of estrangement and otherness that were at the core of his artistic and political personality. Held in the same distinguished private collection since 1989, Something from Sleep IV (Dream) has been included in numerous important Wojnarowicz exhibitions and publications, including the 2018 retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The interwoven gelatin silver prints and paper collage that ground the image are typical of the artist’s mixed media technique, and the thickly painted stegosaurus on top is rendered in a striking orange-red. When Something from Sleep IV (Dream) was first exhibition at P.P.O.W. Gallery in 1989, Wojnarowicz wrote the following analysis of the painting for the exhibition catalogue. “I took this image from a dream that for months I felt was an anxiety dream. To dream of oneself as a dinosaur or a fossil; something ancient and alien—I figured it had something to do with examining my position in the world; I’d always felt an alienation from the ‘art’ world as well as the alienation from the forward thrust of civilization.” (D. Wojnarowicz, quoted in D. Breslin and D. Kiehl, David Wojnarowicz: History Keeps Me Awake at Night, exh. cat., New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, p. 258.)