Yasmine Espert

Happiness, ritual, and sovereignty are artists’ persistent aspirations in the African- and Afro-Asian diasporas. This book project explores why the dreamscape has become the creative form of expression for such social ambitions since the 1990s. It spotlights the films and new media projects that exploit the dreamscape in contemporary Caribbean and diasporic art. Analyses focus on this tropical region, as well as its transnational impact in Canada, Mexico, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Central to this manuscript are the artists Mariette Monpierre, Michelle Mohabeer, and Minia Biabiany. This project engages their questions of happiness, spirituality, sexuality, and sovereignty in the wake of colonialism.