Tomoko Fait’s Rêve dons l’Europe presents a vivid field of dynamic, interweaving forms that suggest both cosmic and psychic landscapes. The painting is dominated by a central circular motif, resembling an eye, mandala, or vortex, encircled by radiating patterns of fiery reds, yellows, and blacks. This circularity recurs throughout the work, with spiral and concentric formations proliferating across the surface, producing a hypnotic rhythm that evokes the archetypal symbol of the mandala as a representation of psychic wholeness and integration (Jung, 1959/1968, pp. 646–657).
In the lower right quadrant, a pale, serene face emerges, eyes closed, as if in dream or trance. This face functions symbolically as the personification of the unconscious psyche, suspended within the pulsating energy of the surrounding patterns. It suggests a surrender to the flow of unconscious forces, embodying the dream state implied by the work’s title (Rêve, “dream”). The placement of the face in a peripheral yet prominent position indicates both the presence and hiddenness of the self within the vast unconscious terrain.
The painting’s surface is saturated with micro-patterns, that is, the swirls, spirals, cellular clusters are all reminiscent of both natural forms (cosmic nebulae, organic growths) and visionary, psychedelic imagery. These proliferations reflect the process of active imagination in Jungian psychology, in which spontaneous symbols emerge from the unconscious without rational control (Jung, 1959/1968, pp. 358–400). Tomoko Fait’s artistic process, allows the image to unfold spontaneously which aligns with Jung’s emphasis on art as a medium of psychic individuation, where symbolic motifs reveal the deeper archetypal strata of the
psyche.
The recurrent circular symbols throughout the painting may be read as archetypal representations of the Self, the central ordering principle of the psyche. Their multiplicity, however, resists closure, which suggests the ongoing flux of psychic energy and the impossibility of final synthesis. The contrast between chaos (the fragmented, intensely detailed textures) and order (the mandalic circles) enacts the dialectic of the conscious and unconscious mind, a tension essential for the individuation process (Samuels, Shorter & Plaut, 1986, (pp. 76–80).
The use of intense colour fields—red, blue, purple, green—recalls the symbolic associations of alchemical imagery, which Jung regarded as metaphors of psychic transformation. The fiery reds and yellows surrounding the central circle may suggest the rubedo, or stage of integration, while the dark peripheries resonate with the nigredo, the confrontation with the unconscious shadow (Jung, 1963, pp. 118–125; 759–766).
Thus, Rêve dons l’Europe can be interpreted as a psychic cartography, mapping the interplay of archetypal energies within the unconscious. The serene face anchors the viewer within this kaleidoscopic field, serving as a reminder of the human subject navigating the vastness
of psychic experience.
References
Jung, C. G. (1959/1968). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (Collected Works,
Vol. 9, Part 1). Princeton University Press.
Jung, C. G. (1963). Mysterium Coniunctionis (Collected Works, Vol. 14). Princeton University
Press.
Samuels, A., Shorter, B., & Plaut, F. (1986). A Critical Dictionary of Jungian Analysis.
Routledge.
Dr. Louis Laganà PhD (Lough) is an academic, curator and practising artist. He lectures on Art and Psychoanalysis and Art for Health and Wellbeing.
