Goshka Macuga's Somnambulist explores dreaming, trances and between states of consciousness. The work is based on Cesare from the 1920 German film The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, who has spent his entire life in a death-like sleep and is kept inside an upright cabinet. Controlled by by the sinister Dr. Caligari, the character is an icon of German Expressionism, defined by black eye-makeup, a pallid face and rigid posture. The film's twist reveals that the narrative is a delusion of a patient inside a mental institution run by Dr. Caligari. The careful staging of Macuga's installations is echoed in the layered narratives and various states of consciousness embodied by Caligari.

The work was created in 2006 for 'Sleep of Ulro', Macuga's largest installation to date, commissioned for the opening of A Foundation in Liverpool as part of the 2006 Liverpool Biennial.