Surrealism is an artistic movement that challenges logic, tradition, and reason. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Tate Modern have collaborated on an exhibit that explores the worlds of imagination, emotions, and dreams.

Tusalava (1929) by Len Lye, New Zealand

© Stills Collection, Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision / Courtesy of the Len Lye Foundation via BBC

The Arrernte people of Central Australia’s stories about moth larvae and artworks from the Māori people and Samoa inspired Lye to create this 10-minute animation. Primitive worm-like organisms appear from the void, give birth to a humanoid figure, and eventually overpower him.

Sea (1929) by Koga Harue, Japan

© The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo / MOMAT/DNPartcom via BBC

“Sea” was an intentional resistance to the European Surrealism that Koga and his companions disliked. They continued a Surrealist tradition in Paris of blending seemingly unconnected symbols to produce magical effects.

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (1943) by Dorothea Tanning, USA

© Tate / DACS, 2022 via BBC

In 1936, Tanning saw a Surrealist show in New York and discovered a way to portray her hidden ideals and worries: through a life-size doll and a girl who is stopped by a giant sunflower with shredded petals from entering a strange, open door.

Long Distance (1976-2005) by Ted Joans, USA

© Private collection / Ted Joans estate, courtesy of Laura Corsiglia via BBC

This is a 10-minute consequence game in which one player sketches a section of a scene and covers it so that the next player can add to it and pass it on. Joans served as the connecting thread that brought together poets, musicians, writers, political philosophers, and artists.