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