Susan Hiller: Bad Dreams

Susan Hiller's first retrospective exhibition in Berlin presents hypnotic and phantasmagorical audiovisual works alongside sculptures made from collected everyday objects and images from the internet, film, and television.

– Susan Hiller, Resounding (Ultraviolet), 2014. Courtesy Lisson Gallery

Known as a pioneering figure in conceptual and video art, the exhibition reveals timeless yet remarkably contemporary reflections by British artist Susan Hiller on how personal and collective imaginations are formed and circulated within cultural artifacts, mass media, and pop culture.

A pioneering figure in conceptual and video art, Hiller's five decades of work have influenced subsequent generations of artists. It ranges from film, photography, large-scale multimedia and video installations to painting, sculpture, and text. Hillers' work defies easy categorization, exploring the construction of fantasy, fear, and meaning. It reveals hidden forces that shape perception and experience. Based on Hillers' ongoing fascination with the (im)possibility of translating certain altered states of consciousness and phenomena, Bad Dreams unfolds as a series of experiences.

The exhibition presents hypnotic and phantasmagorical audiovisual works alongside sculptures made from collected everyday objects and images from the internet, film, and television. By tracing the mechanisms of the unconscious and subconscious, Hiller reveals timeless yet remarkably contemporary reflections on how personal and collective imaginations are formed and circulate within cultural artifacts, mass media, and pop culture.

Curators: Emma Enderby, Liberty Adrien

Assistant Curator: Lara Scherrieble

Runtime: Sat, 17/10/2026 to Sun, 10/01/2027

Takes place here:

• KW - Institute for Contemporary Art