ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Header: Cardiff & Miller, The Instrument of Troubled Dreams, 2018. Interactive audio installation with ambisonic sound. Collection of Diane and Bruce Halle. © 2026 courtesy the artists. Oude Kerke Amsterdam
Cardiff & Miller, The Instrument of Troubled Dreams, 2018. Interactive audio installation with ambisonic sound. Collection of Diane and Bruce Halle. © 2026 courtesy the artists. Oude Kerke Amsterdam
Born in small rural towns in Canada, Janet Cardiff (b. 1957) and George Bures Miller (b. 1960) have collaborated for more than 35 years. Working with sound and new media technologies—including film, robotics and advanced audio-recording techniques—they create immersive, interactive installations that explore memory, narrative, space and time.
Their video installation The Berlin Files (2003) was featured in the Museum’s 2006 exhibition Constructing New Berlin, the first major survey of contemporary art produced in post-Wall Berlin. Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller: The Instrument of Troubled Dreams marks the second presentation of their work at Phoenix Art Museum, and the Arizona premiere of The Instrument of Troubled Dreams.
Museum visitors are invited to take a seat at the modified 1960s Mellotron keyboard and become active participants in The Instrument of Troubled Dreams. Each of the instrument’s 72 keys has been programmed to trigger a distinct sound, musical phrase or vocal track, ranging from a raven flying through the gallery to soldiers searching through an apartment to a carnival ensemble on a barge floating past onlookers. As visitors improvise on the keyboard, they will arrange a distinct audio odyssey, composing unexpected and vivid soundtracks that evoke narratives that are forever shifting.
EXHIBITION SPONSORS
Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller: The Instrument of Troubled Dreams is on loan from the Diane and Bruce Halle Collection.
Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller: The Instrument of Troubled Dreams is organized by Phoenix Art Museum coordinated by Christian Ramírez, the Cohn Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and Director of Engagement.
All exhibitions at Phoenix Art Museum are underwritten by the Phoenix Art Museum Exhibition Excellence Fund, founded by The Opatrny Family Foundation with additional major support provided by Joan Cremin.
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