‘… it is human nature to believe that the phenomena we know are the only ones that exist.’
– Marie CurieTwenty observations from the séance:
in approximate chronological order: One:
a dim room: a chair upholstered: in Utrecht velvet:
presumably for our hostess: Two: a semi-circle
of spiritualists: they wave to me: genteel
and credulous: Three: here comes: the medium:
her gown: a millefeuille of tulle and silk: I am confident:
from a visual inspection: that the pocket space: is ample:
for a dagger: or: a vial of eau-de-vie: or both: Four:
a curtain rippling: without the assistance: of a breeze:
Five: the table that arises: from the lush Kashmiri carpet:
Six: a zither: without zitherist: it emits
a familiar refrain: Seven: I cannot explain: the source
of the bottle: which whooshed over my head:
and dashed itself: to shards: against the tiled
hearth: Eight: the room: falling dark: at the snap
of her fingers: Nine: a blue haze: it: illuminates
her face: she appears: to sprout: additional limbs:
excess appendages: bonus heads: Ten: her eyes flit:
she floats: wrenched up: suddenly: the way the hanged drop:
but in reverse: Eleven: I see myself: with an iron rod:
stirring the cauldron: those tonnes of dirt: from
an Austrian bog: I make them: into a miracle: small enough:
to fit: into a teaspoon: fifty times: Twelve: the substances
I touched: the burns which appeared: days later:
like saints’ faces: in bread or wood: rewarding faith:
Thirteen: Pierre and I: our wounds: which healed:
but in reverse: a red blotch: would grow redder:
scale and scab: then fall away: to reveal: a fresh ulcer:
Fourteen: we were overjoyed: at our fingertips:
swelling up: like tight red grapes: Fifteen: after a time:
we touched: one another: and felt nothing:
Sixteen: My husband’s skull: pulverised
by a carriage wheel: Seventeen: my cheek: against
his coffin: the attempt: to absorb: whatever:
might emanate: from his remains: Eighteen: oh
my hostess: you can’t scare someone: who
has already guessed: what it is we mean:
by ghost: Nineteen: what’s left behind:
after matter: changes state: Twenty: that fraction:
of the original: which manages: to escape.
- 115: SPACE
with A Sometimes
114: NO THEME 13
with J Toledo & C Tse
113: INVISIBLE WALLS
with A Walker & D Disney
112: TREAT
with T Dearborn
111: BABY
with S Deo & L Ferney
110: POP!
with Z Frost & B Jessen
109: NO THEME 12
with C Maling & N Rhook
108: DEDICATION
with L Patterson & L Garcia-Dolnik
107: LIMINAL
with B Li
106: OPEN
with C Lowe & J Langdon
105: NO THEME 11
with E Grills & E Stewart
104: KIN
with E Shiosaki
103: AMBLE
with E Gomez and S Gory
102: GAME
with R Green and J Maxwell
101: NO THEME 10
with J Kinsella and J Leanne
100: BROWNFACE
with W S Dunn
99: SINGAPORE
with J Ip and A Pang
97 & 98: PROPAGANDA
with M Breeze and S Groth
96: NO THEME IX
with M Gill and J Thayil
95: EARTH
with M Takolander
94: BAYT
with Z Hashem Beck
93: PEACH
with L Van, G Mouratidis, L Toong
92: NO THEME VIII
with C Gaskin
91: MONSTER
with N Curnow
90: AFRICAN DIASPORA
with S Umar
89: DOMESTIC
with N Harkin
88: TRANSQUEER
with S Barnes and Q Eades
87: DIFFICULT
with O Schwartz & H Isemonger
86: NO THEME VII
with L Gorton
85: PHILIPPINES
with Mookie L and S Lua
84: SUBURBIA
with L Brown and N O'Reilly
83: MATHEMATICS
with F Hile
82: LAND
with J Stuart and J Gibian
81: NEW CARIBBEAN
with V Lucien
80: NO THEME VI
with J Beveridge
57.1: EKPHRASTIC
with C Atherton and P Hetherington
57: CONFESSION
with K Glastonbury
56: EXPLODE
with D Disney
55.1: DALIT / INDIGENOUS
with M Chakraborty and K MacCarter
55: FUTURE MACHINES
with Bella Li
54: NO THEME V
with F Wright and O Sakr
53.0: THE END
with P Brown
52.0: TOIL
with C Jenkins
51.1: UMAMI
with L Davies and Lifted Brow
51.0: TRANSTASMAN
with B Cassidy
50.0: NO THEME IV
with J Tranter
49.1: A BRITISH / IRISH
with M Hall and S Seita
49.0: OBSOLETE
with T Ryan
48.1: CANADA
with K MacCarter and S Rhodes
48.0: CONSTRAINT
with C Wakeling
47.0: COLLABORATION
with L Armand and H Lambert
46.1: MELBOURNE
with M Farrell
46.0: NO THEME III
with F Plunkett
45.0: SILENCE
with J Owen
44.0: GONDWANALAND
with D Motion
43.1: PUMPKIN
with K MacCarter
43.0: MASQUE
with A Vickery
42.0: NO THEME II
with G Ryan
41.1: RATBAGGERY
with D Hose
41.0: TRANSPACIFIC
with J Rowe and M Nardone
40.1: INDONESIA
with K MacCarter
40.0: INTERLOCUTOR
with L Hart
39.1: GIBBERBIRD
with S Gory
39.0: JACKPOT!
with S Wagan Watson
38.0: SYDNEY
with A Lorange
37.1: NEBRASKA
with S Whalen
37.0: NO THEME!
with A Wearne
36.0: ELECTRONICA
with J Jones