Locus Hour

Vanessa Thill, loading and unloading olam [courtesy of the artist]

the crickets who circle midnight

 

looking for the sky

between box trucks

and smudged panes

wrap the gutters

 

in invisible bags

bites and shreds of strings

loop sour over egg tarp

huge flaps and bristles

of sand scuff you

kicked up in the wind

a putrid bloom

 

more merchandise

 

loading and unloading olam

(the world is hidden)

I didn’t expect

a more spiritual life

to have such

deep hatred in it

such palpable

and consistent

vinyl heat sheets

pockets of

lumpy goo stirring

stripped screw

of ringing bell

quiver and scalp spit

 

to release all revenge

what would it take

to erase an idea of

evening the score

restitution

carrying the hoard

back into the womb

This is a mixed media artist project by Vanessa Thill with coffee, paper, powder pigments, lemonade, iron filings, tobacco, spices, fake blood, glue, resin, and mixed media on hand-tied mason twine net

Vanessa Thill, Locus Hour, 2017, coffee, paper, powder pigments, lemonade, iron filings, tobacco, spices, fake blood, glue, resin, and mixed media on hand-tied mason twine net, 72 x 36 x 12 inches [courtesy of the artist]


Vanessa Thill is an artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Her solo shows in New York have taken place at Deli Gallery, Larrie , Bible, and Hood Gallery; and she has participated in exhibitions in the US and Europe, including at JTT (New York), Hessel Museum of Art (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY), Camayuhs (Atlanta), No Place Gallery (Columbus, OH), Golestani (Düsseldorf, Germany), and Alte Fabrik (Rapperswil, Switzerland). Balsam, Thill’s book of poetry, was published by Pacific press  in 2020. She contributes critical writing to publications including BOMB, Cultured, and Artforum. She is engaged with community organizing with Art Against Displacement, a group of artists and arts workers that fights against displacement in New York, advocating for popular power and community control over land use and housing.