Print version Taxonomy of the Body, the Abject and the Phantasmagoric within a Writerly Art Practice by vaishnavisathish

Menu/AnatomyofthePoet:

1. Teeth

2 HistoryoftheEye

4 SilkwormMoths(Bombyxmori)

5 Teeth

6. Teeth,molarsspecically

7 Bile

8. Benediction

9 (you)

ATaxonomyoftheBody,theAbjectandthePhantasmagoricwithinaWriterlyArtPractice

Toexististoperform ritualisingtheeverydayhasbeenapredominanthumanistictraitsincethebirthof time,perhapsitisanauxiliaryatavisticconditiontoremindusofthebody,theoriginandthelineal.To beginwithexistence,istobeginwiththebodyandtobeginwiththebodyistounravelethos;thatisto otherwiseaskwhatisthebody’spurpose,howisabodymeanttofunctionwhenexcisedfromitsassumed sociologicalroles canexistingwithinabodyeverbeexhumedofitspolitics?

My work, Anatomy of the Poet (2024-present)stemswiththebodyasthecentralimageandutilisesthe routine/ritual, divine/deied, elemental/ornamental as a critical site of enquiry and distinction The magical-criticalisatermI’dliketousetoanalysetheworkinretrospectwithreverencetothepost-modern Withinthecanon,the‘Post-Modern’and,aschiefeditorJamieSutcliewritesinhisintroductiontothe thirdchapter(RitualMedia)in‘MAGIC;DocumentsofContemporaryArt’,‘Post-Truth’itselfcarriesthe magical charge of a willed blurring and reshaping reality aﬀected byastubbornapplicationofintentto language TheconstructionofAnatomyofthePoetquestionsthisintentwithinlanguageandtheroleof denitions WhatisaPoet(alternatively,theArtist)composedof?Whatmakesapoet?ThereisanequityI, thewriter,allowsthewords‘menu’and‘anatomy’tosharesubcutaneouslytosuggesttransubstantiation and cannibalism as approaches to a critical understanding of the artist, poet, and the writer for the ‘ consumer ’ . 1

Theconsumptionbeginswith:

1.Theidenticationofthesharpandtheornate(teeth)

2 Thefragileandthetemporal(memory/historyoftheeye)

3. Anabsence;apith;(aline);aninvitationtowrite(oralackthereof)

4 Ametamorphosis

5 Re-Identicationofthesharpandtheornate

6.Taxonomy;Naming,

7 Digestion

8.Aprayertosignaltheend

9.Dessert.

Ihavelongadmiredtheabjectinthemundane;itactsasasecondary(secondarytothebodyasarecurring element)sitetomyecdysis(moulting;abiologicalprocessinwhichinvertebratesshedtheirexoskeleton)

AdaLimóninBrightDeadThingsnamesBeauty,LoveandDeathasthetorchbearersofexistenceasshe writes,“Irememberwhathadbeencirclingwithinme:Iambeautiful.Iamfulloflove.Iamdying.”.The rsttimeIreadthisintheepigraphtoSavannahBrown’sSweetdark,theallowanceandLimon’sauthorityto identifybeautyandterror,withrelationtoabody,ascoterminousstruckme;becauseitdistancestheabject fromthepassivebyresidinginsuchcloseproximitytothebiotic 2

1 JamieSutclie,Magic:DocumentsofContemporaryArt(MITPress),19

2 SavannahBrown,Sweetdark(SavannahBrown)

InJuliaKristeva’s1980essayPouvoirsdel’horreur:EssaisurL’Abjection(ThePowerofHorror:Anessayon Abjection),KristevasituatestheAbjectwithinthebodybyproposingforittobeanexperienceperpetually confrontingandinducinghorror TheabjectasKristevanotes,is‘whatIpermanentlythrustinsideinorder tolive.’Itisanexperiencethathighlightsandbringsattentiontotheeshlynatureofthehumanbodyas notcontainedandpure,andassuchmustbethrustasidesoonemaycontinuetoliveinignorancetothese realities However,asnotedabove,Límon’sactionoftransguringthecapitalisednoun,Death,toaverbinI amdyingrendersitawayfromthepassive,andclosertothecorporealasopposedtoKristeva’smanifestation oftheabjectwithinthesociety 3

Itsmanifestationinculture,societyanddiscourseveryclosetotheliving,tome,assertsthepoliticsofwhat getstobecleanandwhatbecomesdirty(ordirtied) Theusageofbile,mothandtheconstantresurgenceof themotifoftheteethasacongruentpartofthemenu,inAnatomyofthePoet,isaconsciousdecisionto expandonthenotionofthepalatablethatIcanevidencethroughdiaristicexcerptsandpoetryentriesthatI haverecordedduringintheearlystagesofmyartpractice: #1

December28,2023

WhenIsitonmybedIbecometwelvewhilelearningtobehavetwentyseven Thebed mybed isapulpitofangst,throeandglassywishes Itisanextendedmetonymforallthat Ihavebeen.Mymakingandthemillionecdysishavetheirgenesistracedbacktothesoftcenteratop creasinglinensasIcrawloutofanolderskinIdeemedunﬁtonaﬁckleyoungnight

TonightIpreparetomoultagain,awayfromaworldthatknewme

#2 Man,Moth&( )

There’saplaceIknow:

BeneathadomedBombyxmorisoakedinsoot, Bud-eyessullenlikealovergirl, Headstoopedtothestomach

Inhopesofbeingswallowedforaneternity, BackarchedandagedasiftheSunsliddownitsfearfulspine Withmangoaetherlickingthearthropodripe, Dancingalofttosiftitselfmattedontothenumbthorax

3 JuliaKristeva,Pouvoirsdel’horreur:EssaisurL’Abjection(SEUIL),3

Bringyouryoghurtandberriesyoucan’tlivewithout, Yoursignetringforrenunciation, Sandalwood&Cloveforpeace,andaMadríforsleep

Walkyourbruisedlimbs

Rippledwithgnawingachesofboyhood

Andpeelthembeneaththecotton-wings

(Andwhentheyaskaboutalovedone, Bringme

Bringme

Bringme)

Theaboveexamplesbeginwiththeobservation:thebedstandsforbeinghuman Itaccommodatesthemost crucialaspectsofourlife:birth,conception,death.However,tome,thesymbolicfascinationorrather asphyxiationbeganwiththeKafkaesqueculturalterm‘bedrotting’ Thus,themothbecameasymbolofthe extrapolatedfemalebodyinpaintoabodythustransformed

August02,2022

Thereareonlytwothingsonecandowithanopenedorange:youeithereatorletitrot Mylearning stemsfromadesiretodeconstruct;tounwraptheworldIliveinbecauseagiftislessofagiftonceyou’ve openedit;itisagawkingresponsibility

…Afterall,inaworldthatpresentsitselfunraveled,itismyutmostresponsibilitytodevour.

MywriterlypracticethroughexcerptsandpoemsbeginunravellingmyrelationshiptowhyIsituatethe abject, the gore andthebodilywithinmypracticefrequently ‘ToDevour’isaphantasmagoricthing,a performanceveiledintheeverydaythatIwillcontinuetoengage,disengageandre-engagewithinmyworks, autopoietically.Afterall,AnatomyofthePoetbegannotasworkinitselfbutasadrafttowardsanArtist Statement Ihavehencealsorealisedthattheabject,thebodyandthephantasmagorichavealwayslived throughritualisationandthemythopoeticwithinnon-Westernanthropologicalandcivilizationalpractices. ForRandallStyers,inhiscontributionthevolumeofMagic:DocumentsofcontemporaryArt,magic(orthe esoteric,forthesakeofmyargument)hasalsoprovedanespeciallyperniciousmarkerofculturaldierence andsocialcontrolallowingforthepropagationofEuropeanandAmericanimperialismsfoundedonfalse precedentsofrationalsuperiority Henotes4

4 AtermandconceptIwasintroducedtothroughPatrickSchumann’sAutopoiesisinArchitecture(2011) whichfurtherintroducedmetoLuhmann’sSocietalTheoryincontexttoAutopoiesis Itwasusing Luhmann’stheory,Iwasabletocontextualisemyunderstandingofitwithrespecttoanindividualunderan existentialistlens

The assumed critical clarity of Eurocentric anthropological enquiry has allowed for scholarly production of ‘primitive’ or ‘traditional’ cultures, categorical ctions that would justify the suppressionofbothnon-WesternandEuroAmericanproletarian‘superstitions’bycolonialand governmentalexpansion 5

Andforthisreason,thisstatementdidnotendwiththelist/themenu/theanatomytogiveyouaninsightof whatconstitutestheartistbecauseIfeltmyresponsibilitywasrootednotjustintherecognitionoftheabject and esoteric and the rejection of the docile but also in the taxonomic categorization of the inevitable contextsofthebodypoliticstheyliewithin

5 Sutclie,Magic,14

Bibliography:

Brown,Savannah.EpigraphinSweetdark.2020

Husain,Amber MeatLove MACKPublishing 2023

Kristeva,Julia Pouvoirsdel’horreur:EssaisurL’Abjection SEUIL 1980

Sutclie,Jamie.Magic:DocumentsofContemporaryArt.MITPress.2021. Taylor,Imogen AgainstAbjection FeministTheory10(1)77-98 Lancasteruniversity 2009