Becky Hyberger

Forgotten Memory: A Dream Storage System (2022) 1/16 scale, 4” H x 5” W x 11” D. File Listings include: 54.12.15 (December 15, 1954), 87.06.19 (June 19, 1987), 93.01.15 (January 15, 1993), 93.03.24 (March 24, 1993), 93.08.23 (August 23, 1993), 94.08.24 (August 24, 1994), 94.09.07 (September 7, 1994), 94.09.08 (September 8, 1994), 94.09.12 (September 12, 1994), 94.09.19 (September 19, 1994).

Pillowcase: A Dream Storage System (2023) 9 1/2” H x 16 1/2” W x 21” D, Inside the watch box (display case) are dates corresponding to dream journal entries. Threads connect the tiny identifying tags into the interior of each pillow through it’s outside pocket.

Hiding Place: A Dream Storage System (2023) 1/16 scale, 4” H x 5” W x 11” D. File Listings include; 87.09.11, 88.11.22, 93.05.10, 89.05.05, 89.07.07, 96.07.21.

The Black Box (1999, revised 2022) A rose floral bedroom in 1/16 scale is located in a black box measuring 11” H x 14” W x 12 1/2” D. A black box is the flight data recorder located in the cockpit of planes. When passing between stages of wakefulness and sleep, paralysis is sometimes felt in the body and a buzzing sound is often heard and felt in the mind. The bees represent this transition and are a metaphor for the transformative work of dreaming.

Infestation (a.k.a. Rosebedspreads, 1999, revised 2023) 48” H x 27” W x 3” D: The lightening bugs infiltrate the beds by plugging into different areas. Each bug is made from an iridescent teardrop bead, bead cap, earring back, and wire for wings, feelers and feet. The insects represent the dreamwork done under the surface; the questioning and bringing to light emotional issues in creative ways so there are opportunities for resolution.

Pink Closet Study (1997) A closet perceived in three ways. In 1/16 scale, each interior measures 7 1/2” H x 3 1/2” W x 2” D.

A Spacious Interior (2020) is composed within a shallow cache. Are the drapes drawn to eliminate distractions from the exterior or the interior?

Interior Door (2022) 6” H x 12 1/2” W x 8” D

Illumination (2022) 11” H x 9” W x 9 1/2” D

The Journey (2022) is 1/4 scale and is approximately 15” high. The suitcases are made from Gatorboard and wallpaper. The handles and hardware are made from jewelry findings.

By using an internal compass, life can be seen as an incremental journey leading to a deeper sense of self. Nestled inside the column of suitcases is a universe of infinite possibilities.

Lower Level is a place of distractions where it is easy to loose time and focus.

Lower Level is 1:16 scale with interior dimensions of 10” H x 9 1/2” W x 6” D. All the surfaces are wallpaper; the phone is made from a necklace clasp.

The Elevator is a threshold. It is the space between that must be passed through before arriving. This in-between state of mind captures the moment of transformation where the end and the beginning imperceptibly overlap. Shaft (2020) 20 1/2” H x 6” W x 6” D is a visual expression of how this system works. Water is piped into the threshold from the interior universe below while excess water flows back into the shaft through the floor.

Safe Passage (2020) is built inside and on top of a 9” x 9” x 6” acrylic box. Rising from a grid of gray is a stack of colorful luggage that extends upward. On the surface a butterfly has just emerged from a partially opened travel case.

The Elevator (2020) measures 13” H x 14” W x 13” D and was built in approximately 1:16 scale. The elevator is a threshold and part of an interior system within the subconscious. The passageway is an underwater shower with a drain in the center of the floor. Towel bars serve as hand rails. A pair of goggles hang near the faucet.

A miniature construction (8 1/2” x 9 1/2”) created in honor of Peggy Medina (1957 - 2020). Of all the work Peggy created for The Year of the Super Kitchen Kitchen, Twilight and Journey are the pieces that most succinctly give voice to her artistic journey. The open box on which the miniature renditions hang represents one of of the more than 1200 individual ceramic boxes she created for her installations, 1200, Out of the Box, and Under the Wire. Her boxes were born out of deep sadness and despair, and through the process of creation, they were transformed into hope and possibility.

The Blackbird’s Territory (2022/2023) is a series of miniature constructions in various scales. Each represents a dream fragment and is displayed on a floating Plexiglas shelf. The dream fragment is identified with a code that corresponds to the date of the original dream. For example, the code for The Blackbird’s Territory is 21.09.18 which represents September 18, 2021. For exhibit purposes, this code is real and is one of hundreds written on tags attached to the pillows in the artwork entitled, “Pillow Case.”

Life is a journey. We carry our memories, hopes, thoughts, and dreams. It is difficult to see beyond borders and boundaries when we are focused on a detailed interior part. When a catastrophe like a pandemic happens, our connection to others is both hindered and amplified. If we can shift and see others as ourselves, it becomes possible to recognize the underlying pattern of our own story.

Feeding the Soul (2016) is a miniature construction in 1:12 scale. It is the first of a series of 12 woks for the original exhibit, The Year of the Super Kitchen. The table, chairs, plates and birds are purchased. The purses are made from painted wallpaper, the bowls and coffee cups are from jewelry findings, ice cubes are beads and the straw is a styrene rod.

The Pretend Self and the Sleeping Self always travel together; one on the surface and the other in the subconscious.

The vintage cosmetic travel case and its contents are in 1:2 scale and measure 16” H x 12” W X 12” D. The depth of the case is doubled. The interior trays are positioned on wedding cake tiers. The base is a square platform on a turntable.

Materials used for the vanity case and its base include plastic foam core board, wallpaper, rippled glass, oval mirror, metal corners, brass hinges, jewelry findings and gold thread.

The cosmetics and bottles are made from large beads, glass drawer pulls, various sized tubing, paint brushes, brass cotter (hair pins), jewelry findings and a locket (compact) with circular cut felt corn padding for the powder puff.

The Sleeping Self, resting on a bed towards the bottom of the vanity case, is in 1:16 scale. Rippled glass and aqua wallpaper give the illusion of water.

Uncovered (Revised 2020) is constructed in 1:12 scale. The bedspread is a hankie pulled back to reveal a grid of women’s magazines, diet books and romance novels.

The Pantry (2020) is a system of unseen activity behind the cupboard doors. The scale is approximately 1:16 with height of the room exaggerated.

The teapots are made from beads with jewelry findings for the spouts, handles and lids. Each pot sits on a glass or mirrored shelf against a wallpaper background. The teacups are painted insulated electrical wire connectors with a necklace link as the handle. The work is matted within a canvas frame.

The perfume and vanity bottles are assorted beads on a mirrored shelf against a wallpaper background. The lids are smaller beads, pin heads, spacers, links, studs and other jewelry findings.

The vanity sink is a dish from an artist’s mixing palette. The sink’s faucet and handles are made from jewelry findings. The cup is an insulated electrical wire connector with a necklace link for a handle. Washcloths and hand towels are painted fabric.

The work is double matted within an 8 x 10 canvas frame.

In North Dakota during the winter when I was seven, I visited a neighbor lady. She offered me a warm drink while I sat in her kitchen. I loved this old woman. She captured my attention and imagination by creating birds - one after another - from her Magic Chef Stove. We laughed and laughed as each new bird spiraled up out of the pan.

Mise en Place (a.k.a. Reading) (2017) is a French culinary phrase meaning putting in place. It refers to the set up required before cooking. It becomes a way of life to be able to concentrate the mind in order to focus only on what is necessary for the best result. This 1:12 scale diorama under a bell jar illustrates what is needed to spark the imagination and insight necessary for creativity. The books are painted basswood with gold ink on card stock covers; the soft clock doily is made from a jewelry setting; and the crystal ball is a marble.

(The Year of the Super Kitchen) In Rene Magritte’s 1964 surrealist painting, Fine Realities, a green apple is seen floating above a vast expanse of water with a rectangular dining room table set with a tablecloth resting above. Feminine Reality Rising depicts a green pear rising through the surface under a more balanced dining table.

(The Year of the Super Kitchen ) The original Listening Room was painted in 1952 by Surrealist artist, Rene Magritte. A green apple fills up the interior space of the room, symbolizing the tension between the hidden and the visible. A window to the outside can be seen on the left, framing a large expanse of water. The Kitchen  (a.k.a. The Other Listening Room) depicts the hidden feminine.

John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

 The insights that propel creativity, no matter when or how they come about, tend to feel like gifts. So, in a way, the creative process is also a spiritual journey where grace is found in fleeting moments.

(The Year of the Super Kitchen ) The red apple is in contrast to the floating green apples painted by Surrealist artist, Rene Magritte. His work came to symbolize the tension between the hidden and the visible. Here, the red apple represents the inner feminine. To emphasize the subconscious nature of the cultural feminine, it is underwater inside a lace covered drawer. The dark red interior mimics the apple and further serves to camouflage it.

(The Year of the Super Kitchen) Down the Rabbit Hole is both a metaphor for an entryway into the unknown; and the period of chaos or confusion just before a breakthrough in the creative process. The soft clock draped over the side of the sink is reminiscent of Salvador Dali's painting, The Persistence of Memories where soft clocks symbolize the passage of time experienced in dreams. The soft clock could also represent the pocket watch carried by the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Decorative and plain eyelets secure the top and base of the sink legs. The sink is a plastic box; trimmed and painted. The pipes are made from plastic tubing that winds around several layers of slate tile.

(The Year of the Super Kitchen ) The Super Processor is made from a radio dial, fluted cup, glass button and various jewelry findings. It is plugged into a beehive complex stacked with three brood supers and five honey supers. The supers are approximately 1:12 scale and made out of basswood with jewelry spacers as handles. Beehives situated in fields are light colored. This beehive is black to suggest that honey - the fruit of creativity - comes from the subconscious - a place hidden from view. Creativity continues to unfold even when we are unaware of it happening.

(The Year of the super Kitchen ) Under the dome coffee pots are percolating on top of filing cabinets. Each coffee pot is made from a cable TV connector, crystal seed bead, rondelle bead, silver tubing, levered pierced earring back, jewelry findings and silver wire. The drawer pulls are large staples.

(The Year of the Super Kitchen) The Creative Cooking Course published by Weathervane Books in 1985 was the inspiration for 1st Course. The miniature construction (approximately 1:16 inch scale begins inside the cookbook and spills out onto it’s cover. Both interior and exterior weather conditions must be ideal for an individual to become aware and bring out into the open what has been incubating internally. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven . . . “ Ecclesiastes 3:1.

(The Year of the Super Kitchen) A construction in 1/16 scale of an early 20th century kitchen sink from my family home built into a 3 inch wooden frame. The dirty dishes stacked beneath the sink represent the stuff of the subconscious - the raw materials underlying our nightly dreams. The journal is on the surface of awareness. Writing down dreams and/or keeping a journal allows that which is hidden to become visible.  

The dishes are made from jewelry findings; large bead caps are used as bowls; electrical supplies including insulated disconnects are glasses; and metal button backs are pot lids.

(The Year of the Super Kitchen) A small kitchen is housed in a birdcage. The original inspiration for this exhibit is shown in the newspaper article covering the floor of the cage. Here, Super Kitchen is a metaphor for the creative process. At the core of creativity, there must be a sense of freedom: if not physical, certainly spiritual.

The work stations are small smokeless tobacco boxes, the pot lid is a suction cup, the bowl of seeds is a candy mold, and the faucet is a pierced earring back with an acrylic rod attached to simulate running water.

(2016) A dressing room, a closet and a pool are housed together inside a filing cabinet drawer.

Each area represents an aspect of the psyche with its own boundaries and vantage points. The dressing room is an area of reflection and perception. It is the place where the stuff of the unconscious is inferred. The pool is the personal unconscious where dreams and deeper levels of awareness coalesce. The closet is the space in between. Here memories and dreams are both hidden and revealed. Its the space where the remembered and the forgotten overlap. The filter between the closet and the deeper pool can only be seen indirectly in the full-length mirror of the dressing room. Pool water also comes into the closet through the faucet and exits back down the drain. In order to see more deeply, a dive mask is located in a box on the upper shelf of the interior closet.

The file drawer is approximately 2/3 actual size. It is 10 1/2 inches H x 12 1/2 inches W x 20 inches D. The interior architecture and contents are 1:12 inch scale. The framework for the piece is made out of Gatorfoam. Other materials used in the construction are wallpaper, rippled and non reflective glass, mirrors, wood, fabric, notions, jewelry findings, paper, Q-tip (towel rod), wire, screen, beads (bottles), seashell (soap dish), watercolor mixing dish (sink), and paint.

(2012) The Sanctuary is a vestibule between the exterior persona and the deeper interior of the subconscious.

The dimensions are 12 inches H x 12 inches W x 16 inches D. The drawer is in scale while its interior is approximately 1:8 scale. The exterior is made from wood, wood moldings with a brass pull & plate. The inside is constructed out of Gatorfoam, wallpaper, wood & vintage picture frames, jewelry findings and mirror. 

(Revised 2015) 

Transformation happens in the space where opposites overlap.

The subconscious is symbolized by the black drawer in the center of the maze. The opposite responses to not knowing are reflected in the two sides of human nature: doing and being. In this work, each of the private rooms with their connecting chambers illustrate two differing mindsets.

Robert A. Johnson writes in Owning Your Own Shadow: "If we can stay with conflicting impulses long enough, the two opposing forces will teach each other something and produce an insight that serves them both. This is not compromise, but a depth of understanding that puts our lives in perspective and allows us to know with certainty what we should do."

The work is 1/16 scale and is constructed out of Gatorfoam, wood, wallpaper, jewelry findings, fabric, fiberglass screen, eyelets, card stock, paper, beads, compact mirror, odd plastic parts and dollhouse miniatures (glass jar, spoon, plate, cup & saucer). The overall dimensions are 8” H x 20” W x 16” D.

The Library is a collection of related constructions about the art of understanding dreams. Remembering and analyzing dreams requires patience and practice. When close attention is paid to the feelings surrounding a dream as they surface, personal insights can be discovered.

This small shared bathroom space with the excessive plumbing on the counter surface is built using 1:16 inch scale into a wooden frame. The interior dimensions of the bathroom are 5” H x 7 1/2” W x 1 3/4” D. The oval sinks are stick deodorant caps and the faucets are earring backs.

The Basement includes a furnace room and a smoking area.

The Furnace Room (1990) is in 1:16 (3/4" = 1') scale. It is electrified and contained in a framed box that measures 13 1/2 inches H x 21 inches W x 9 inches D. The piece is a replica of an original furnace room from a house built in 1917. At one time, this boiler furnace burned coal, but since has been converted to gas. 

The Smoking Area (1991) is a hypothetical space next to the sump pump at the bottom of the basement stairs where smoking is permitted. The outside dimensions of the finished box measure 11 inches H x 11 inches W x 5 1/2 inches D. It is also in 1:16 scale.

Anything within the realm of imagination was included in the list of materials for the construction of these works. For example; 1/32" styrene rods were used to simulate cigarette butts, a toilet paper roll provided the center of the furnace, brick walls were made from foam core board with the paper removed, bricks were scored using dental tools and a jig, pipes were created from card stock and wooden dowels, the dust is asbestos pipe insulation from the original furnace pipes and the cobwebs were made from angel hair.