Some dreams leave a rich residue. Scraps survive waking. Others are fragile: they slip through the fingers of memory like tiny fish escaping back into a dark, impenetrable pond. But if I scribble notes into a book by my bed, I can freeze something in my head. Then, when I wake, the words are the access codes to visual data that can be retrieved and viewed in my mind’s eye.  As soon as I can, I sketch what I remember.

These are useful as notes. But they do nothing to evoke the emotion and powerful visualisation of actual dreams. But the fact that natural language is the key to unlock the door to the subconscious is critical. Text-to-Image AI uses the same method. I asked AI to help. I'm glad I did – with its huge arsenal of references it throws up unexpected combinations. And with its extrordinary technical ability it renders form and lighting  in exquisite detail. A little photoshop later, and my dreams are back. This gives me a shiver, I'll admit.

Dream Diary series , 2023, AI-generated digital images

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