Lilith Burned
Spending a day in the company of Katelan V Foisy was one of the most exhilarating artistic experiences I’ve had. We achieved more than I could possibly have imagined, and proved any dictum you might want to throw at us about the best laid plans.
The idea was simple. Go around Oxford taking pictures of Katelan dressed as Lilith, turn that into “some kind of art”, then display the results at a reading of texts related to Lilith at The Albion Beatnik Bookstore. All of which we did. Only instead of doing something on canvas, we bought a sheet at a soon-to-be-closed comic store,
which led to adhesion problems that saw us purchase freezer bags and safety pins, which led to all kinds of super and wholly accidental symbolism.
And we did more. We managed to get Year Zero invited to do a gig at Tiger Lily, Oxford’s biggest alternative lifestyle shop and tattoo parlour; we hooked up with some great guys from Canada who were in town before hiring a car to drive to Aberdeen;
we were treated to an amazing set on the double bass by the incredible Susanna Starling, hotfoot from the recording studio;
we were treated to an impromptu reading from a guy who wrote a Beatish take on Isis and Osiris whilst we read.
What the day showed me more than anything was the joy of the spontaneity of art; the lack of boundaries between disciplines; and the irrepressibility of the creative spirit. And I learned more about Oxford in an hour of wandering around town asking strangers if they’d like their photo taken than I have done in the 20 years since I pitched up as an undergraduate. Most of all we met an connected people – and we connected them with art. Not bad for a day.
The artwork we produced, Preserved Specimens, Presumed to be Food, will go on sale from 15-19 June as part of OVADA’s closing premises auction to raise money for the arts in Oxfordshire. OVADA have been incredible hosts to Year Zero over the past month or so (including letting Katelan & I run riot in their studio on the 19th), so do bid online at the OVADA website from June 15th. You will also get a signed copy of Songs from the Other Side of the Wall and SKIN BOOK.
Katelan read from Blood and Pudding, and I read from SKIN BOOK and works from Daisy’s forthcoming Siren’s Song. And this is the marvellous impromptu piece created by Albion Beatnik regular, Dot.
the ballad of Isis & Osiris
Osiris is a black god, they whisper
Set, in stone, mouth gaping
hippo-style
in hypostyle halls
his gaping maw swallows all
bright Isis, winged, wanted by both brothers
sits enthroned while
O laps her open O below
Set watches, teeth clenching
as I’s bright eyes widen and fists clench
her mouth an open O
‘oh!’ she says
Set throws a party, wine flows
his bro, late, stands at the rear
S wishes O would disappear
‘this beautiful box, one size fits all,
is yours if you fit in it’ S snarls
everyone tries, they’re all the wrong size
‘give us a go,’ sighs o
he slips in, fills it, gets snug
but gets stuck
S, the badass, nails the box shut
swans down to the river,
box aloft
chucks it in, off it goes, to where
god only knows
Isis knows, sets Osiris free from the tree
growing round him
‘confound it’ hisses s
he waits in the dark for O to come home
alone
white eyes widen when the knife flashes silently
severing black head from black neck
black legs from black hips
jetting red
O is dead
now
just to make sure
Set secretes all the pieces in secretive places
spitefully chopping off the cock
skipping down to the shore
and launching it into the air
a might pisces leaps
snatches tasty cock/snack from the sky
‘bye bye sucker!’ snorts serpentine Set
years pass
Isis years for her dark o
searches high & low
masters magick
seeks out the secret spaces
and stitches o’s pieces together
yet nO amount of detection can trace his erection
down below, submarine slitherings in unearthly glow
I fashions a golden dong, schlong
better than the real one
*bang*
brings Osiris back from lifelessness
ends his status in stasis
she rides his metal lightening rod#back and forth
for all she’s worth
until
*bang*
golden showers deflower her bower
‘I have a feeling this won’t end well’ thinks S
and as Horus is lifted to I’s heavenly breast
he winks once, black eyed
and
i’ll come back to the rest
Oh Sweet Dark Lords and Ladies – Katelan looks fucking amazing as Lilith!
Doesn’t she though!! There’s the full set of pictures on the knickerboker Circus site
Dan
[…] a piece of Year Zero history. You will remember last month, Katelan V Foisy joined me in Oxford for Lilith Burning. One of the things we did that day was to create the installation piece you see here. Well, now you […]
Year Zero up for Auction! « Year Zero Writers said this on June 12, 2010 at 7:53 am |
[…] first day I spent with Katelan was in Oxford for the event Lilith Burning. Based in the OVADA Gallery, Katelan dressed up as Lilith, and we spent two hours on the streets of […]
eight cuts said this on December 25, 2010 at 5:01 pm |
[…] taken at this time last year, by me, during Lilith Burning, a literary event I ran in Oxford with Katelan Foisy from New York’s Knickerbocker Circus […]
When you know it’s all gown wrong « The Company of Fellows said this on May 29, 2011 at 11:39 am |
[…] poet known as Dot standing outside with a rollie. Old hands will remember Dot – he came to Lilith Burning last year and sat in the audience writing a poem that he then performed at the evening’s […]
Nightmares and Dreams | eight cuts said this on August 12, 2011 at 1:30 pm |
[…] can find full details and numerous pictures of the day long installation Lilith Burning here. Katelan and I used photography, physical collage, both of our storytelling skills, her modelling […]
Create Something Together. Artistic Collaboration In Action. | The Creative Penn said this on December 23, 2013 at 7:21 am |
[…] can find full details and numerous pictures of the day long installation Lilith Burning here. Katelan and I used photography, physical collage, both of our storytelling skills, her modelling […]
Create Something Together. Artistic Collaboration In Action. said this on December 24, 2013 at 11:21 am |