What is it about the dark that we find so fascinating? Since the dawn of human consciousness, we have been captivated by the eerie, the macabre, and the spectral. Ghost stories, steeped in mystery, have permeated cultures across the globe, reflecting our perennial need to explain the unexplainable.

The human experience is marked by this paradoxical relationship with darkness. As children, we feared it—as adults, we rise above it, using logic and rationality to guide us. But even the most rational amongst us falter when we find ourselves alone in the dark. Which begs the question: Is it the dark itself, or the corners of our own minds we truly fear?

The mind is a remarkable instrument, capable of creating vivid and elaborate worlds. In the absence of light and certainty, our imaginative power is amplified, free to conjure its most terrifying images in the gaps between what is seen and unseen.

Once Upon a Midnight Dreary is an exploration of the liminal space between light and dark, where shadows come alive and the unseen exerts its presence. Here, we desire to make sense of the mysteries that lie beyond the veil of the visible world. Through this lens, we can safely examine our existential anxieties without fear of retribution.

Untethered by the constraints of reality, our mind creates phantoms and spectres that lurk in the shadows, painting the darkness with the conjurings of our imagination. 

Ben Cornford and Anthea Mentzalis
July, 2024