Dreams are a complex interaction between our bodies, minds, memories, and experiences. “Dreaming Machine” is a trajectory of site-specific artistic works exploring the topic of dreaming. “Dreaming Machine #1″ (prototype) is the first in the series. During the day, the work examines its visual context. Stimulus from the visual context inspires day dreams through its experience. At night the work freely associates elements of its experience and presents them to the audience.

The system uses artificial intelligence and a model of memory to construct its dreams. The work is a continuation of the artist’s M.Sc. thesis project “Memory Association Machine”. “Memory Association Machine” uses a novel combination of an Artificial Intelligence and a cognitive model of human creativity.

Both “Dreaming Machine” and “Memory Association Machine” are inspired by a cognitive model of creativity and memory. This model is manifested in two processes; first, both systems use an artificial neural network (a Self-Organizing Map) to integrate and organize visual sense experience into a field, and second the process is modeled on a creative free-association where elements of the systems’ experience are selected using a model of propagation similar to a cellular automata.