Suspension

Abstract

This collection explores the theme of “Suspension:” coming of age, dealing with tragedy, and searching for meaning in the post-pandemic world; a world that becomes increasingly demanding of personal sacrifice and the performance of pain on the part of the individual while simultaneously becoming increasingly incoherent. The primary themes of the collection are violence, embodiment, and time. They directly address the suicide and preservation of my older brother via life support and the grieving process. They also address the complex relationship between gender and violence, and loss of innocence. The word “suspension” references both the sadomasochistic ritual gesture of flesh hook suspension and the resulting shifts in time that the suspendee experiences. This multiple implication of time is also metaphor for my brother’s suspension in a coma (the stasis of waiting for the decision to cut off life support, the impossibility of trying to respond properly to grief under the conditions of the pandemic) and the time it takes for bodies to heal from physical injury both physically and emotionally.