(Images) 。゚☆: *.☽ (About) 。゚☆
Grounding Exercise, 2023
performed at auftakt festival, 2023, Cologne DE
read at Feminist Frequencies, Radio Echo x Radio Worm, 2024, Rotterdam NL
2 modes
build
fail
In geology, petrification
is the process
by which organic material
becomes a fossil
through the replacement
of the original material
and the filling
of the original pore spaces
with minerals
petrified wood typifies this process
but all organisms
from bacteria to vertebrates
can become petrified
For if your eyes
are petrified in amazement
she will turn you to stone
layer
upon layer
upon layer
upon layer
Instruction:
Take a stone in one hand and some sand in your other hand
Imagine how the stone in your hand turns into sand
Imagine how the sand in your hand
turns into stone
What are you turning into?
We are walking down the streets
they are so familiar
I’ve seen them countless times
I see statues on facades and
young beheaded women on fire escapes
every window of every shop
looks like a gallery
i look and look
blue sky is creeping
through the buildings
the yellow streetlights against the blue
make me happy and anxious
we are crossing sides
i make fun of you walking faster
on this side of the Atlantic
you turn back with a grumpy smile
we arrive at the bakery
named after a Sicilian volcano
A crack in a stone
A crack in a bone
A crack in a stone
A crack in a bone
A crack in a stone
A crack in a bone
A crack in a stone
A crack in my bone
At the gym
I am working to turn myself into stone
performing a scripted choreography
position, lift
position, lift
pause
repeat: position, lift
position, lift
pause
repeat: position, lift
position, lift
I learn that
muscles will only grow
if they are first
broken down
to sculpt a body
to break down
entire areas of muscles
to work these areas
to failure
controlled gestures
same weights
same reps
same sets
destroy
demolish
collapse
crumble
rebuild
I WATCH CLOUDS PASS BY
HEAR STONES CRACK
It took me a while
to find them
but then I did
We had been walking
for a long time
until we finally
reached the forest
The deeper
we got into the forest
the darker
and darker it became
The spaces between
the trees grew larger
Green turned into gray
The ground covered with petrified
melted rock
no animals nowhere
We walked silently
through this fossil of a forest
past crystalline stone formations
and calcified foliage
As the sun transforms
from a streak of light on the horizon
into a sphere
we gather
to summon our powers
We move inside
a rock formation
Slowly we all kneel down
As my knees hit the floor
I feel a light sting on the kneecaps
and move slightly
to be more comfortable
We spread our arms wide
in front of us
the fingers close together
There is no talking between us
but we are connected
by a faint humming
passing from one member of the group to the next
The wind whirls up dust
the sky changes colors
The sun suddenly seems very close
Our humming intensifies
The ground cracks
Shifts
I can hear the song of ringing rocks traveling through the air
Every sound becomes a voice
After a while
small spots of burning ash
start to appear
on the tips
of the standing rocks
The glow spreads
traveling down the stones
Smoke rises
the glow leaves pulsating traces
on the stones
forming a tight net of heat
dissolving all the rocks
Melting down the entire landscape constructions and concepts
Past
Present
Future
After the meltdown
I look at pictures of petrified forests online
I screenshot them
and save them in a folder called “FUTURE”
I keep thinking about a short story
I read a while ago
about a person consumed by grief slowly transforming into stone
her body crystallizes
toughens
I look at an influencer wearing a shirt
that says the keys
to physical and spiritual health
with pictures of healing stones
set up in a grid
We sit down for lunch, there is
some anxiety about being perceived
by others who are also sitting down
drinking their filter coffees and having their pastries[a][b]
We tell the dog to lie down
and tell him he is a good boy
The waiter comes and brings us water
and advises my friend to order that dish
instead of the other
they’ll get more for their money
She comes back and brings us
our orders and says
its so funny my friend has a dog
that looks exactly like this dog
and the dog is called
Medusa
and it’s strange
cause I study greek mythology
and know that
Medusa
is a woman actually
and how weird
to call a dog who is a boy
Medusa
We laugh
and tell her it's actually our dog
and medusa is also the word for jellyfish
jellywish
Let flowering weeds grow up
in the whole in your side
fitness journey
running journey
sculpting journey
tracking milestones
Turn me to stone
Turn me to stone
Turn me to stone
early vases and stone-cravings
depict
Medusa
as having been born
a Gorgon
but that slowly changes
according to Ovid
Medusa
was once
a beautiful young maiden
with amazing hair
the only mortal of three sisters known
as the Gorgons
her beauty catches the eye
of the sea god Poseidon
who rapes her in the sacred temple
of Athena
furious at the desecration of her temple
Athena curses
Medusa
turns her into a monster
turns her beautiful hair
into venomous snakes
turns her eyes into weapons
from now on
whoever looks upon her face will
turn to stone
Turn me to stone
Turn me to stone
Turn me to stone
Fill me up with your minerals
You tell me
you talked to
this guy at a party in L.A. who
has a classic poodle
with a vibration collar
and how it did wonders for his dog
who was also reactive
I wonder
if it actually did wonders for the dog
sounds like it mostly
made life easier for the guy
and I wonder
if our lives with others
are supposed to be easy
and also
how much we can sculpt
the animals surrounding us
She asks me
what are my plans for the night
I tell her
I have to get my dog from my friend
and i ask her if she has a pet
she tells me she had a bird
a real bird
he died last year from a heart attack
a door slammed shut loudly
and he got scared and fell on the floor
and was pretend dead
completely frozen
and that’s how he died
because he wasn’t breathing enough
She says I have beautiful hair
and recommends a hair mask
(additional €5)
I say no
She recommends a conditioner (additional €3)
I say no
She recommends getting highlights
to hide the white streaks
I say no
she says that's a first
She cuts the tips of my hair
so it falls in soft layers again
the ends fall to the ground like feathers
I remember
mom refers to hair as feathers
in her mothers tongue
The overall chemical composition
of hair is
45 % carbon
28 % oxygen
15 % nitrogen
7 % hydrogen
5 % sulfur
no minerals
although eating minerals helps
with hair growth
she tells me I should come back in eight weeks
to cut the ends
The platform I booked
the appointment through keeps
sending me reminders
to rate my experience
three stars, it was ok
she calls me on the phone to ask me
what she could do better
she refuses to get three stars
she wants five
*****
LOOK AT THE MEDUSA
SHE’S BEAUTIFUL
AND SHE’S LAUGHING
i am thinking about
last night's dinner
with your high school friends
how they each have
a clear path carved out
how they set one foot
after the other
your friend tells us
about her wedding at the zoo
how it can’t rain
because then they’d have to do
the ceremony with the rhinoceros
and that’s going to be a bit smelly
she shows us her dress
gorgeous leaves
draped around her beautiful body
i ask if the leaves will be glued onto her
no she says it’s invisible mesh
our 2 hour slot at the restaurant is up so
we take our fortune cookies mine says
the fortune you seek can’t be found in this cookie
we are walking to Annie’s Crisis Bar
people are singing loudly around a piano
i feel i want to belong to them
your friends are talking about
living in capitalism instead of under
A crack in a stone
A crack in my bone
How did you sleep
Like a rock
10/10
Started at the gym yesterday
what did you do
full body tested all the things there
yay exciting
yaaa so nice
have always had so much social anxiety there
before
so was never possible to be present
ugh yes
gym anxiety
hot face emoji
I WATCH CLOUDS PASS BY
HEAR STONES CRACK
A crack in a stone
A crack in my bone
i tell you how i feel i am
lacking this clear vision of a path
how i am wondering
if there will even be a world in 30 years
how i don’t know
how to carve a path for my life
how the air seems to turn to stone
kiss the stones
crushed little stars
keep turning
compost memories
creatives are the new athletes lol
After we send various
ssense links to each other with
workout outfits
I see you on tinder
and immediately swipe left
My friend says how rude
you should always
swipe your friends right
so next time I see your picture
I swipe the other way and we match
At school
we run into each other by the elevators and smile awkwardly
your friend is standing next to you
and I feel
like it's high school all over again
You come over
and you text me you are wearing
rain pants and I am not to laugh about it
You take them off in the elevator
I cook and we listen to music
You feel so shy
and you make me feel shy
and it's impossible to touch each other
The dog sitter texts: is it ok if we take his harness off while we are at home?
your italian friend says she was dripping
and fell to the ground
and we talk about the humiliation
of falling in public space
drop by drop
by drop by drop
by drop
Mom sends pictures of the garden
she tells me the bumblebees
are making a comeback
there is actually nothing to worry about
instruction:
place your body close to the ground
be still and hold your breath
endure the forces of erosion
do not react to changes in
weather
atmosphere
season
be moved don’t move
A crack in a stone
A crack in my bone
i sit in the sun next to you
we are eating rainbow cookies
and you hold my hand
i think how i love how your hand
feels in mine
people are passing by
looking precious and sculpted
we enter a bookstore
i open a book on a random page
it says
this shore
of stones
remains
it feels like a warning
every stone is simultaneously
intact and broken
a singular stone as well as a mountain
an entire planet
Can you answer me
no
Can you answer me
no
Can you answer me
no
I am learning
to run quickly
with lightness and grace
and without falling
i can’t fall apart
because i’ve never fallen together
no feelings, just vibes