a song for the dolls
by Yonsiri Rojas

bloody moth against snow -
lost in the iris of a beautiful doll
drifting away by the scent of her cologne
daffodils blossom beneath the storminnocence stolen due to the glimpse
of her porcelain-skinned, sweet complexion
hazy for the rosiness in her fat cheeks,
the honey-stained ways of her curls
they all saw the tv glow in projectionfervid desire of growing the pearly wings
nature of this moth inside of me
The song for the dolls goes like this:
if the parts of my body i don’t see fit
i’ll detach and paint over them all my dreams
making of myself bigger than the stars
making of metamorphosis my own art

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when the dead return
by Cally Lim

¹ their eyes reaped
² out of their sockets
³ hollowed-out kidneys and a hole
⁴ where the hearts should be.
⁵ on foreheads are slashed swastikas
⁶ where memories are grazed away
⁷ in bulldozed graves,
⁸ plastic bags strangling-blue
⁹ as the blindfolded, battered sky.
¹⁰ there is nothing
¹¹ for the land to remember by
¹² when olive trees are martyred
¹³ and not
¹⁴ a stump
¹⁵ or seedling
¹⁶ were spared.
¹⁷ while the sand takes what remains of them still,
¹⁸ and the winds scrounge for answers,
¹⁹ the righteous still pray for true peace to come. true silence comes after the red sea
`                                                                                                                returns
²⁰

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Soldiers
by Sara Ardenne

Ten little soldiers lined up one by one
On the battleground margins.
Red spills neat, too real
Hearts lie abandoned.
(broken, forced apart)(voices raise, orders barked–)
(silence looms.)
(clocks tick.)Somewhere, someplace, someone watches–Swords glint silver sharp,
Soldiers raise saluts.
March on, soldiers,
Dare not to lose.Five big soldiers march steady along the crease,
History’s folds ripping lives with ink.Thumbs position for protocol’s sake,
Pinky fingers trembling at the edge of obedience.The metronome sounds one-by-one,
Soldiers stand ready to burn.One tiny soldier stands at the end of the battle,
The blood means that they’ve won.
The soldier looks around,
And the countdown ticks to the next battle’s hum.Yes, the blood declares a victor,
While silence bows for none.
The metronome still ticks
And still nothing has been won.One century later,
The ground is still untouched.
A new generation of soldiers come to rip it all up.
Sink their boots in the mud
And they use rifles now, too,
Bullets fly where wounds bloomed,
And they trip on their million-dollar boots.Another century later,
And no more soldiers are in the fray.
They burn behind screens of aluminum and one-sided glass,
They drop dollar bills like entertainment awaits
Tongues lay flat, voices unheard,On the big screen, on the phone,
War never leaves the world alone.It mutates and she grows,
She rises above soldiers bold.
Men still fight and women still cheer,
Soldiers still die hoping the end is near.The battleground is untouched,
But the red will never leave.
The margins burn brighter,
There is no reprieve.
(None dare to speak.)

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... and this stays between us, right?
by cyber//chiffon

… and this stays between us, right? is the first project from two person artist collective cyber//chiffon featuring two touch reactive sculptural objects titled I CAN’T TAKE OFF MY BEAUTIFUL FACE (Taylor Elise Colimore) and maybe I should be biting (Noren Gelberg-Hagmaier) both conceptually and literally in conversation together. Through the use of different coding techniques, the objects talk back and forth between each other and also to the viewers if triggered by their touch. Conceptually, these objects were created from experiences we have had where we felt disrespected, taken advantage of, or judged on the basis of our identities and self-expression. The installation of this exhibition creates a space for our objects, representative of ourselves, to participate in conversations without being interrupted by unsolicited comments. However, due to the nature of an exhibition, viewers are invited to enter the gallery and further to even interact with the objects thus interrupting this conversation. The illuminated objects, when touched, go dark and make a jarring sound to startle the viewer in an effort to advocate for the object’s own autonomy.Video documentation here.

CAN’T TAKE OFF MY BEAUTIFUL FACE, 2023
Taylor Elise Colimore (she/her)11"H x 14"W x 13"D
fabric, beads, ribbon, Arduino microcontrollerMy body is not on display and I am beautiful. I choose to cover myself with icons, drape myself in bright colors, curate phrases to be sprawled across my chest, tie ribbons to my curls, hang jewels from my ears, apply glitter to my eyelids; but this is not for you to look at. Do you think I am beautiful? Why do you look at me? Who gave you permission to look at me? I am not an object on display for your attraction.

maybe I should be biting, 2023
Noren Gelberg-Hagmaier15" x 15" x 15"
fabric, yarn, wire, Arduino microcontrollerVulnerability is a thread woven throughout my work. Letting myself be seen is an act of great vulnerability when I have no guarantee of respect from those around me. When someone touches a nerve, how do I make them stop? Bristle at the touch? Gnash my teeth? Scream my lungs out? And when none of that works?

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Smile. You're Being Heard.
by Nysa Chaturvedi

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terms and conditions
by saturn

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