Artist’s Statement
‘No light, no sound, no air, no touch….’ Some people read this piece, as a love story, a poem about longing. And some people experience it as something a little more sinister.
I love chancing upon those intersections between light and dark, between longing and our darker impulses, where our emotions are the murkiest and that is often where we find the greatest clarity about our ethics and desires. I think every womxn who chooses to engage in sexual, or sexually charged, relationship, would have experienced ambivalence, navigated that line between consenting submission and ownership, mindful domination and control. Lines that Patriarchy has made murky for us. This piece contains pieces of all of that. It’s best read (and listened to) in a dark room, dancing.
Es Foong was born with three given names in two languages. All have been misspelt or mispronounced. So she is obsessed with the names of things but can’t remember the names of people. Her poetry has been included in Cold Mountain Review, Australian Poetry Journal, and Melbourne Spoken Word’s in the audio journal Audacious 4. She has featured at spoken word events across Melbourne including Passionate Tongues and La Mama Poetica, and performed at University of Canberra’s Poetry on the Move. She lives online at waffleirongirl.com