The inception of the installation was unexpected. I was working on a collaborative piece with other artists. One day, upon entering the workshop, I was greeted by a film crew. To my surprise, they were shooting a full-length documentary about our project. It was only in front of the camera, during an interview, that I learned I was to create my own installation separate from the main one. I asked the curator about the tree branches lying in a corner, then remembered years ago when I had tested shotguns and collected many shells with the thought that someday they might be used in an installation. Thus, the visual component emerged.
The collaborative project's stipulation was that each member had to contribute to an individual installation. While the theme was set by the visual component, I desired a deeper engagement for the audience. The solution was the audio aspect, incorporating the voices of every project participant as well as some of my friends.
I compiled questions designed to evoke pleasant memories and help individuals reconnect with themselves. I had been unable to answer the final question myself for many years.
The concept was that the answers to the questions would be edited and played back to the listener in a random sequence. The aim was that, for instance, three different individuals experiencing the installation would hear different segments and, upon leaving the museum, share what they'd heard. Anticipating that visitors would listen for 3-5 minutes, I created 25 minutes of content. During the first showcase, many individuals listened until the very end, and a queue formed around the installation. That's when I realized that much more audio content was necessary.
Before long, the process itself became engrossing and an integral part of my life.

Its genesis was quite accidental. When creating my website, I placed this installation at the bottom, as installations are not my primary genre. However, to explain it in detail required a great deal of text. While this installation is one of my favorite projects, because of the factors mentioned above, few people would learn about it while browsing the site. The solution was quite evident: capture the faces of people as they experience the installation. This would wordlessly convey the range of emotions it evokes.

Observing people's reactions at the exhibition after experiencing the installation, it was clear that it had a significant effect on their mood. I took the bold step to measure individuals' states before and after listening, and arranged with physicians from a psychiatric hospital to conduct a scientific experiment during filming. I had envisioned a birch forest for the full-scale version, so the question of location was quickly resolved. The narrative process was completely overhauled during the writing of the director's treatment.

I learned about the term "director's treatment" just before writing it, having answered the senior cameraman's question that I would send it by evening. On my way to the airport, I researched what it was and how to properly compose it. On the plane, I wrote the main part and sent it by evening.

I invited my friends to participate in the project, and their involvement was able to inspire the filming crew to collaboratively create the video. The number of participants multiplied, and the number of cameras increased from one to six. Thus, the video project about the installation evolved into an independent short film.

I was honestly scared to invite psychotherapists, as I didn't understand how one could measure mood, but I was confident that the installation "works".

Excerpts from the document:

Abstract:
The significance of an individual's emotional state and their ability to self-regulate emotions can hardly be overestimated. ASMR is a perception phenomenon characterized by pleasant sensations in the body (such as tingling and goosebumps on the skin), inducing a positively tinged spectrum of emotions (inspiration, pleasure, joy, etc.). According to some sources, people who have experienced the ASMR phenomenon describe their feelings as "mild euphoria". In this study, we analyzed the influence of the ASMR phenomenon and the "YOUR DREAMS (?)" project on mood modulation.
Methodology:
16 participants took part in the study, their emotional states were measured using a mood assessment questionnaire both before and after listening to the "YOUR DREAMS (?)" project by artist Maxim Timofeev. The mood assessment questionnaire is designed to evaluate emotional states by studying responses reflecting a person's mood. Participants were asked to answer 21 questions with one of three answer choices: "yes", "no", or "vice versa". The analysis of the answers allowed to determine the prevailing mood during the assessment: normal, euphoric, or asthenic.
Based on the research conducted, the following conclusions can be drawn:
• The "YOUR DREAMS (?)" project contributes to the alignment, stabilization, and harmonization of mood background;
• It has the ability to reduce the asthenic state, eliminating increased fatigue and weakness;
• It contributes to the emergence of an uplifted, joyful, exalted mood.

It was decided to create an app quite by accident. During my initial days in Dubai, I rented an apartment with a shared kitchen for multiple rooms, where I got acquainted with intriguing neighbors, some of whom became friends. This is how I met Dima, a programmer. I told him about my project, and inspired by it, he suggested we create an app. The aim was to offer people an opportunity to immerse themselves in pleasant emotions and break away from negative moods, no matter where they were. Though the idea for the app had been conceived right after the debut presentation of the installation in the museum, it apparently wasn't the right time, as it came to fruition a year after filming the movie, by which point I'd almost forgotten about it.
I worked on the design, populating the app with new content, while Dima simultaneously wrote the code, occasionally proposing his own ideas. The core of the app was developed over a few all-nighters – "hackathons", as we called them. While the foundation is the "YOUR DREAMS (?)" project, the app also incorporates several of my other projects that function as meditations.