The installation "Between Dreams and Reality" shows the hybrid world of man and machine and deals in an abstract way with the interplay between the conscious and unconscious, questions about the future and dystopias vs. utopias. What can the future look like? The artistic exploration plays with the conscious and subconscious in an abstract way.

The "Dream Machine" at the center of the installation shows an interplay of the combination of man and machine, technology and nature, organics and synthetics and poses questions to the viewer. The artist addresses the following questions, among others, but invites viewers to develop their own questions: To what extent and to what degree are these combinations of nature and technology desirable? How do you feel about it yourself? Artificial intelligence, technology, access to information and theories, control, surveillance, capitalism. Where are the boundaries between dystopia and utopia? What will the changing times bring? In which direction are we heading? Can the direction be changed?

The spatial design is carried out in collaboration with the artist Desirée Eppele. This results in synergies between the two artists, through which the theme of the sculpture in the center is carried out into the room. The dreamlike environment resembles a journey through one's own subconscious, in which various aspects are combined through the visual design and the materials used.

Anna-Lina Helsen (*1989) The works of media artist Anna-Lina Helsen take up natural and social elements. These are reinterpreted through a wide range of media processing, confronted with the expected ways of looking at them and made tangible in a new abstract way.

A combination of various technical devices, materials, data, sound and visual elements play an important role for the artist. She combines interactive and spatial elements, uses several senses simultaneously, creates experiences and tells stories through images and sound. The artist grew up in Beijing, China, and moved to Canterbury, England, at the age of 18. After living in Prague, the Czech Republic and Berlin, she ended up in Karlsruhe in 2014. She was confronted with language barriers from an early age, which made her increasingly interested in learning several languages, different ways of communicating and cultural characteristics. These themes are incorporated into the narratives of her artworks, shaping them in a constant search for new ways of communication. Anna-Lina Helsen's works have already been shown at the Architecture Biennale 2021 in Venice and the Lichtsicht Triennale 2020 in Bad Rothenfelde, among others.

Desirée Eppele (*1990) Desirée Eppele, born 1990 in Bühl, is a multi-faceted artist from Karlsruhe. As a master student of Prof. Franz Ackermann, she graduated from the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe (2018) and has already received the painting scholarship from the Herrenhaus Edenkoben (2020), a working scholarship from the Einraumhaus barac in Mannheim (2021) and a scholarship from the Stiftung Kunstfonds for NEUSTART KULTUR (2022). Her art, which has already been presented in Japan, Poland, the USA and México City, among others, explores psychological processes and existential experiences by repeatedly dealing with different, thematically correlative materials. Her solo show for the 2022 Nibelungen Festival in Worms impressed with a critical, feminist interpretation of the Song of the Nibelungs and experiments made of metal, resulting in the first ARD TV report on her as an artist. Rooted in painting, she fluctuates between genres and seeks reflexive, interdisciplinary approaches that aim to open up new perspectives through immersive visual and spatial worlds.

The installation is part of the exhibition Media Art is here of the UNESCO City of Media Arts Karlsruhe: https://www.cityofmediaarts.de/de/werke/between-dreams-and-reality-2024/