Bad Sleeper
"It’s called Rocketown because long ago they put up a building there in which to make rockets. But none were built, and the building’s now nothing, which is what it has always been, except for a fenced-off dank corner that was once used to store dilapidated fireplugs and is now a filthy day-care for the children of parents who couldn’t care less. All around Rocketown little houses went up when it was thought that the building would soon be full of people making rockets and hauling down impressive wages. They’re bad little houses, put up quick, and now all the people who were young and had hoped to work on rockets are old and doddering and walk by the empty building mumbling why why why."
- George Saunders, "Offloading for Mrs Schwartz," from his book CivilWarLand in Bad Decline.
The work in Bad Sleeper is divided into two major themes: Cold War militarism and the symbol of the poppy. These themes are rooted in both family and world history, as well as broader reflections on war and rural dependence on the military.
The first theme stems from my ongoing exploration of the Pyramid of North Dakota or Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex. The site was an anti-ballistic missile defense system located in Nekoma, ND, operational for only a few months in 1975. It’s often referred to as a monument of the Cold War. My great-grandfather worked as a general contractor at this site, painting the interiors of missile silos—a job he did throughout North Dakota. I find the Cold War eerie and macabre, from the military naming of programs like MAD—Mutually Assured Destruction—to images of "bomb cakes," particularly at events celebrating nuclear tests.
The second major theme of Bad Sleeper focuses on the corn poppy and the opium poppy—plants with intertwined histories. The corn poppy, immortalized by the poem In Flanders Fields, became a symbol of World War I, representing the soldiers who perished in war. Disabled veterans produced the first paper poppies as a means of employment, and to this day, the flower serves as a symbol of remembrance. The opium poppy carries a dark history. From ancient depictions to its role in global conflicts like the Opium Wars and the war in Afghanistan. Opium has been a tool of imperial control, economic exploitation, and warfare. Morphine, derived from the opium poppy, was widely used in the U.S. Civil War, leading to cases of addiction known as “Soldier’s Disease.” Today, my thoughts turn to fellow veterans navigating pain management and opioid dependence. Though, today’s opioid crisis also involves synthetic opioids.
The title Bad Sleeper originally stemmed from my own struggles with insomnia but grew to encompass broader themes around dreams and nightmares. Many veterans experience sleep disorders and opium has long been linked to finding sleep and oblivion. This show is about remembering—and the challenge of finding rest amid those memories.
