MANISHA ANJALI


Naarm Melbourne / Writer & Artist


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Ophelia’s friend was in love with me. I saw them briefly on a video call but did not recognise them. On their property there were three tower-like sculptures they had made. One of the towers had a golden hand covered in eyes, holding a large eyeball. I thought, Ophelia’s friend is the most gifted artist. In the middle of the towers was a deep crater. A small winged creature was playing near it. I lay on my belly and poked my head inside the crater and saw it was covered in lush foliage, it was beautiful and mysterious though I didn’t see all the way underneath. I was given a plate of food by a woman I did not know. I felt my father’s presence. I ate bhaji and prawns and thought, ‘this is not as good as aji’s cooking, referring to my father’s mother who passed away many years ago. I asked the new woman if she had been to the swimming pool on the rooftop, remembering I had spent hours there in another dream. The water was clear and naturally hot.

(6/5/2020)



I was eating spinach and feta sandwiches with my ex boyfriend in my back yard. I wanted to add more flavour to the sandwiches so went to the kitchen and began grating hair that I had collected. After I had finished grating, several miniature mannequin heads resembling another ex appeared on my plate. The heads had clown wigs in bright colours — red, lime green, yellow, electric blue. My mother appeared and I explained that I’m adding hair to our sandwiches. She said, ‘oh no baby that will not give you more flavour because it is hair’.

(30/4/2020)
 


An old lover had mysteriously moved into my house. Outside his bedroom door was a hand-drawn poster with an unknown symbol and the words WRITE YOUR DREAM STATEMENT. I went downstairs to make tea. On the kitchen floor was a 50 cent coin which began moving around. There was something evil under it. I screamed.

(23/4/2020)



I was visiting my beautiful friend in Byron Bay. I was also there to make a film about water and sky. In my friend’s garden, hundreds of little dragons lived in trees. As babies, the dragons were large monarch caterpillars. They metamorphosed into brown, scaly dragons with wings. One of the trees they lived in was the same one my mother chopped down last year. I kept meaning to document the water and sky, but was mesmerised by the mythic dragons. In the distance was a CASTLE with smokey, firey clouds behind. My friend went away for one day and I stayed with the creatures, watching them transform from caterpillar to dragon. Later, in the news, they announced that someone tried to fly off a cliff and got arrested. It was my friend. In the news footage they had long blonde hair and a yellow dress. In waking life they have a shaved head and I’ve never seen them in a dress. The police restrained them kicking and screaming. When they came back they said they wanted to be free.

(18/4/2020)



Violins were playing. The images were removed from my dreamscape and I was in blackness for centuries. Satan was in my bedroom. I was lying on my belly unable to move. They bent down and whispered something in my ear. I couldn’t understand what they were saying but it sounded like this:


(2/4/2020)



I was in a hot air balloon watching a giant golden Number 5 levitating and spinning in a smokey car park. It was in the car park from that short film that Mac DeMarco is in, the one where his name is Dave Fuck and he backs cars up. The moon was pink and the sky was grey. The Number 5 was a sign that the year of 4 (2+0+2+0 = 4 = death) was over. Atomic Bomb by William Onyeabor was playing on repeat, even after I woke up.



(20/3/2020)
© Neptune and Manisha Anjali