Blum & Poe Broadcasts presents musings by artists from their homes to yours.

Penny Slinger continues her new photo collage series titled My Body in a Box—an ongoing project created during these last weeks of self-isolation, seeking to explore the psychological entrapment and fears that accompany the experience. As Slinger has done since the 1960s, here she uses her own image and body as subject to process a range of feelings and reactions. Accompanied by her poetry and prose that are evocative of states of mind and being, Slinger’s offering is one of pain and poignancy, as well as transcendence. This series will continue to grow as a living archive, during the span of shelter in place.

Collages and poems: © Penny Slinger
Photos of Penny Slinger by Dhiren Dasu

BOXES GETTING SMALLER

It seems the walls
Are closing in
Compressing
Creating
Less space
More pressure
Less ability
To move
To shift position
I want to 
Stand up
For my rights
Let me 
Out of the box
If not
I'll do it myself
And it won't be
Pretty
For the record
I'm not speaking of
Self isolation
I'm talking
Humane rights

ST SEBASTIANNE

The slings
And arrows
Of outrageous fortune
Keep piercing me
To the core
Blood letting
My precious 
Life force
With every
Thrust
Each assault
Every wounding....
I feel like Gaia.
I've heard of
'Taking one for the team'
But how many
Does one have to take?
Again and again
Over and over
Coming at me
From all directions
From past to present
More of the same
One has to be
A Saint
To keep on 
Taking it.
And by the way
The apple is on the head
You crazy marksmen
Eve knows
Or ask Magritte.