EFA Studios and the Monira Foundation proudly present The Reality Principle, featuring EFA Studios and Monira Residency artists. The exhibition focuses on proposed, in progress, or otherwise unrealized work through models, mockups, and drafts. It is a show of dreams and experiments that tells the hidden stories of artists aspiring to make work that has been stymied by demands of reality or the approval of others. We celebrate these artists who continue to offer ambitious ideas and images to the world.

The reality principle is a Freudian concept that describes the ability to assess reality and act accordingly instead of acting solely on the pleasure principle. Artists are tasked with dreaming of new, until-then-impossible realities and are often indulged in pursuing pleasure and grand ambitions. However, they must work within the constraints of funding bodies, publics, and material realities. Rejection and setbacks can feel arbitrary and prejudicial. And yet many artists face this pain over and over again to see their visions through.